


cool for the summer

by iamyouropus (adieu_sweetamaryllis)



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beach House, Coming Out, F/F, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2016-10-25
Packaged: 2018-04-13 22:21:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 67,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4539591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adieu_sweetamaryllis/pseuds/iamyouropus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been three years since Korra left for college. Three long years since she's talked to her friends. Now, she's coming home for the summer just in time for a road trip with the old gang. </p><p>Korrasami beach-house AU slow burn. Mentions of past Korra/Kuvira. Might be mentions of Mako/Wu.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. nobody cares if your heart is aching

Sleeping during car rides has never been a problem for Korra. As a matter of fact, falling asleep just about anywhere has never been a problem for Korra. More than once she's ended up curled up in Mako's bathtub after partying a little too hard or drinking a little too much. She always awoke well-rested and ready to face her day, unlike her hungover friends.

Now, she shifts in her seat uncomfortably, wishing she'd spent more time practicing staying awake on long trips. She's fallen asleep twice now on the four hour bus-ride, and each time had startled herself awake, afraid that she had missed her stop or someone had stolen her things. 

This time, she wakes to a tapping on her shoulder.

"Hello. Miss?"

Her eyes fly open, and she tries not to jump at the sight of a man in a vest and cap in front of her. Still, her hands jump up to her chest and she gasps.

He takes her in for a moment, and his eyes turning sympathetic after he finishes sizing her up.

_Great,_ she thinks, _I must look pathetic._

"Sorry, kid. Last stop."

"Right," she says stiffly.

He walks back to the driver's seat and plops down. Everyone else has already gotten off the bus, she notes, and she can't help but wonder how long she was asleep. She stretches as she stands, joints popping as she reaches for her suitcase in the overhead compartment and giving it a hard tug.

Her luggage is heavier than she's expecting, and it hits the top of her head with a loud thud. She thinks she hears a hint of a laugh from the front of the bus, and avoids the drivers eyes as she drags her suitcase down the aisle and the stairs. She's embarrassed herself enough already.

She gets off the bus and glances around, trying her best to look alert despite her sleepiness. Her father taught her one of the keys to traveling safely was never to let herself look vulnerable. 

She's happy to see there aren't many people at the terminal. An old man who seems to have fallen asleep reading a newspaper sits to her right on a bench. He has a bag of luggage at his feet. Two young women stand together against the back wall, looking at the bus schedule and talking angrily under their breath as they trace their fingers across the map.

Korra's glad she memorized her route before she left. She hasn't made the trip to her old town in... well, never actually.

She swallows thickly at the thought. She hasn't been to Republic City in years, and she's afraid nothing will be the same. She's not even sure what she'll do when she gets there. Her friends probably don't want anything to do with her at this point, and she can't blame them.

Three years without contact is a long time.

She sits on a bench along the back wall and hangs her head.

_Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place,_ her father's voice echoes in her head.

She tries to ignore the stinging in her eyes at the thought of her parents, and the twinge of betrayal that snags in her chest along with it. Yeah, she hasn't bothered to visit them in years, so she really can't blame them for not thinking of her whereabouts this summer... Even so, they Skype frequently and she would have at least liked to have heard about their big trip cross-country, if not invited to tag along.

It wasn't until she called her father in tears after having the door slammed in her face did she find out that there wouldn't be a home to return to. It hadn't been a proud moment for her. Sniveling to her parents on the walk home after a break-up, only to be immediately rejected once again. She remembers asking if she could at least come stay at her childhood home while they were away. 

_"Honey, I'm sorry, we've already rented the house out on AirBNB."_

She managed to regain her composure enough to convince her parents to hang up the phone before she lost herself again. She found her way back to her dorm room, the one she'd barely entered since the beginning of the year, and bought her bus tickets.

She had only one option left.

_Republic City, here I come._

Her phone buzzes, pulling her out of her thoughts, and she frowns. Who would be calling this time of night?

She picks up her phone and her lock screen stares back at her. It's one of those gross coupley photos that she personally would've never set herself, but once it was done she couldn't figure out how to undo it. She was never good with technology. The picture is from not too long ago, maybe a month at most, even though it now seems impossibly far away. From another lifetime, even.

_I really need to figure out how to change that,_ she thinks before focusing on the task at hand. Her phone is still ringing. She studies the number.

It's an unknown caller with a familiar area code: Republic City. Her thumb hovers over the decline button, but something stops her. Maybe it's the nostalgia of returning home after three long years, but before she knows it the phone is rising to her ear. 

"Korra?" the voice on the other end of the line asks.

She almost drops the phone.

//

Packing has never been Bolin's strong suit.

Even so, he's too proud to ask for help. He doesn't want to hear Mako's "I told you so's" that he's sure he'd have to endure if he admits to his brother he needs a hand getting ready for their trip.

Mako urged him to start packing at the beginning of the week. As with nearly everything else, Mako had an idea of how proper packing should be done: in a timely and efficient manner. He'd explained his methods to his brother several times, even though he knew it was falling on deaf ears.

Every time he used something in the morning, Mako told him to put it in his suitcase after. That way, everything he used to get ready would be in his suitcase by the time he had to leave, and no necessities would be left behind.

It was a great idea, really, and Bolin did listen the first few times he told him about it, but... he had a habit of waking up just a little too late to be able to pack in the mornings and make it to work on time and one thing lead to another and...

It's the night before they leave, his suitcase is still empty, and he only has less than twenty-four hours until they're leaving for a month-long trip.

He sighs.

_Packing is exhausting,_ he thinks as he flops back on his bed. _God knows I can't ask Mako to help. Who else is there?_

Bolin grabs his phone, frowning when he sees he has no new messages. He scrolls through his contacts, searching for someone that would understand his dilemma.

He skips right past the first name in his phone. He's seen how Asami packs-- she brought over all her luggage the night before, one bag piled high after another.

_No thank you,_ he thinks. And obviously Mako is out of the question.

He gets to the K's and stops.

Bolin frowns. _Korra_. He hasn't talked to her in so long, but he's sure that if anyone were to understand his situation, it would be his old friend. They'd always shared a similar temperament that annoyed the hell out of Mako but allowed them to become fast friends when they were children.

_Man, I haven't heard from her in ages,_ he thinks, biting his lip uncertainly.

He dials before he has time to change his mind. He counts the rings, waiting for the fourth followed by a tell-tale click to voicemail.

_Just wishful thinking,_ he thinks, and just a moment later the ringing cuts off. There's a moment of silence, and he realizes after a few seconds without Korra's voicemail message starting -- there's someone on the other end.

"Korra?"

"Uh, Bolin?" comes the reply, and he grins in spite of himself at the unmistakable sound of Korra's voice on the other end of the line.

"I can't believe you picked up!" he exclaims without thinking. He hears a sound through the speaker that could be just a breeze, or it could be Korra letting out a dejected laugh.

 Judging by the long beat that follows, he figures its the latter.

"But never mind that," Bolin breaks the silence after a moment. He hasn't spoken to one of his oldest friends in -- _god_ , it must have been years now. There'll be more time to talk about the nitty gritty of why she disappeared off the face of the planet later. "How are you? Where are you?!"

This time her laugh is more genuine. He grins.

"Currently at a bus stop, but I have a feeling you're asking in a more general sense," she says, her tone light. He laughs in response, but doesn't probe further. He's known Korra his whole life, and even if they haven't been close in a while he can tell when she doesn't want to be pressed. 

"A bus stop? Are you coming home?" he asks instead.

_Mako will be so happy,_ he thinks. _At least, I think he will._

They rarely talked about it, but neither he nor his brother had heard from Korra since she left for college three years ago. Not a visit home or even a letter.

"Should be there by 3 a.m.," Korra says. "I'm waiting to transfer busses now. I've already been going for hours," she says, and the tiredness that has seeped its way into her voice confirms it.

Bolin checks his watch. Three o'clock?

_That's only a little more than three hours away!_

"Where's your stop? Do you need a ride? I can drive now, I have a car and everything!" His words come out in a rush but he doesn't bother to stop them. He's always been excitable, especially when it comes to his friends.

"Whoa there, Bolin," she says, her tone teasing. "You sure you're old enough to be driving?"

He scoffs. "By a long shot. I turned 19 last month," he boasts.

Korra sighs on the other end of the line, not sure whether or not to address the elephant in the room. Bolin doesn't seem nearly as angry with her as she thought he had the right to be, but it still doesn't feel right to ignore the way she'd just left him and his brother behind when she went off to college.

"I know," she says after a moment. "Hey listen, I'm sorry I didn't send a card or anything. Things have been... weird here for me lately," she explains.

It's a weak excuse, but he lets it slide. "No worries."

Tears well up in her eyes in relief, and she brushes them away before they have a chance to fall. Bolin always had a big heart, but she's still touched he's willing to act like no time had passed, like she hadn't ruined everything.

She decides right then to make it up to him. "Anyway... now that you mention it, I will probably have a hard time catching a taxi at three in the morning."

"Yes!" he shouts, forgetting how late it is. He waits for the telltale loud bang on the wall from Mako telling him to keep it down, but none comes. He's sure to lower his voice when he speaks again. "Let me pick you up! We can go visit Mako and Asami first thing."

"Don't you think they'll be asleep?" she teases.

"Fine," he huffs. There's a moment of silence while he considers their options. "Oh, I know! We can stop at a diner first. I know one not too far from here that makes the meanest omelette with cream cheese and chives. And their bacon, Korra, my god."

Somehow she gets the feeling he's not really all that upset about this turn of events.

Bolin always was a fan of the bacon.

"Okay," she answers simply.

A shocked laugh barks at her from the other end of the line. "Wait-- really? That easy?"

"Yes, really. I'll text you the address."

Bolin can't stop smiling even after they've hung up the phone. For a few minutes he sits there in stunned silence, wondering if he should go tell Mako about what just happened. His brother is an "early to bed, early to rise" kind of guy -- he decides against it.

A celebratory snack will have to do.

He jumps out of bed, and makes it only a few steps before -- "shit _, ow!_ " -- he stubs his toe on a the giant suitcase waiting empty at the foot of the bed. He collapses back onto his bed, clutching his foot and frowning at the sudden realization that he didn't even talk to Korra about packing.

He waits for his toe to stop throbbing before grudgingly grabbing a few shirts and beginning to fold them.

_Not like I have much else to do for the next three hours, anyway._  

//

Bolin punches in the address Korra texts him into his GPS, and is surprised when it leads him to a dark street with a small bus shelter on the south side. There's no one around, but the street is still not quite silent, with distant noises every few seconds that make him jolt in his seat uneasily.

Bolin parks across the street and locks his doors. He's glad he didn't let Korra get dropped off here on her own.

He doesn't have to wait long. Within minutes, the bus pulls up. He jumps out of his car, walking up just as the bus door opens. One by one, people straggle off, and one by one he's disappointed when each isn't his friend. Not one of them seems too thrilled with the whole early morning travel thing, and Bolin can't say he blames them. He'd downed two cups of coffee before he headed out to pick up Korra.

There aren't many people on the bus, he observes. Still, Korra seems to take her sweet time getting off, and after it's been almost a minute since the bus doors opened he worries that she ditched him, bailing at an earlier stop.

Then she appears in the door of the bus and he breaks out into a grin.

"Korra!" he shouts, rushing forward to meet her. He sweeps her up in his arms, resisting the urge to swing her around because, hey, they're in public and he's an adult. Still, he can't help but lift her off the ground with the force of his hug. She feels small to him now, and it's immediately apparent how much he's grown since they last saw each other. He was only sixteen, after all, a junior in high school.

"Bo," she says, her voice muffled into his chest, and he realizes that he's holding her a little too tightly. He drops her to the ground and she blinks for a moment before beaming up at him. "God, you've grown!"

"Naw," he says, hoping he won't blush. He's still not anywhere near as tall as Mako, even though he's grown to be much broader than his older brother.

She reaches up to tussle his hair and he laughs. "You look so different!"

"You're one to talk," he says. "Look at your hair!"

"Oh yeah," she reaches up sheepishly, feeling for the shoulder-length cut she'd adopted a few weeks ago. It took her a few days to get used to herself -- she hadn't cut her hair since elementary school, but she just needed a change after her relationship went down the tube.

_Right,_ she thinks, her smile faltering.  _The break up._

She feels the familiar heartbreak settling into her chest at the thought, and _dammit_ she had been this close to forgetting about all this.

If Bolin notices the way she tenses, he pretends not to. He loops one arm through hers as he grabs her suitcase with the other. "C'mon, let's get your bags in my car,"

Bolin's two-door looks like an old clunker that he probably bought off Craigslist, but it suits him. The trunk won't close on its own and he has to tie it shut but he still beams at it proudly, and she can't help but smile in return when he announces her name is "Betty."

The ride to the diner is a short one. They spend most of it in silence after a few minutes of small talk about her trip.

Neither of them seem to know what to say next, so Korra contents herself watching the streetlights and signs pass as they drive into town as Bolin fiddles with the radio.

It's not long before she begins to recognize her surroundings. She didn't grow up here and never learned to drive, so she never knew the roads all that well. Even still, after all these years, it immediately feels familiar.

_There's the ice cream parlor that Mako worked at the summer between our junior and senior year,_ she notes.  _The park we played a few scrimmage games of soccer at before school._

Even in the dark, Korra is fascinated by her old small town. She's almost disappointed when she hears Bolin's blinker clicking as they pull into a tiny, dimly lit parking lot

"We're here!" he announces, throwing the car into park.

The diner is small and boxy like an old train car, with stainless steel siding and a bright neon sign that flashes **OPEN 24/7** in big letters. Korra is a bit wary at the sight of it, but chooses to ignore her instincts when she sees how Bolin's eyes light up in the neon glow.

There isn't anyone else in the diner at this time of night, which isn't a big surprise. The waitress seats them near a window at Bolin's request.

"Your chive and cream cheese omelette please," he orders in his best posh accent. "Can I get wheat toast on the side? Oh, and a bit of jam?"

 "Sure thing," the older woman says. She smiles at him with a familiarity that makes Korra think Bolin must come here often.

She jots down a few words on her pad before turning her attention to Korra. "And what about you, hun?"

"Can I have a black coffee and the short stack, please."

"Alright. And will that be sausage or bacon for your side?" she asks, and as soon as the words are out of her mouth Bolin nearly jumps from his booth.

"Oh, how could I forget! Can I also have an extra order of bacon?"

"Bacon for me, too," Korra adds. The waitress chuckles and shakes her head as she closes her pad.

"That'll be right out," she says, before leaving the two of them alone. It's silent for a second before Korra decides it's her turn to start the conversation.

"Thanks again for the ride, Bo," she says with a warm smile.

"Any time!" he says. After a moment his grin fades into something more serious. "To be honest, I was surprised you even picked up the phone."

She tries to brush it off, ignoring the guilt that filled her at his somber tone. "Oh please, I always have time for my little bro," she jokes, but he doesn't laugh. He looks away nervously, twiddling his thumbs in front of him on the table.

_Oh no, here it comes,_ she thinks.

"Well, you have been kind of M.I.A. for a while," he says, shifting in his seat as Korra sinks into hers. She had hoped to avoid this conversation for a little longer. She thinks of changing the subject for a moment before deciding against it.

_You owe it to him to be honest,_ she thinks.

"Yeah, I know. I just had a really hard time coming back to that house, after..." she trails off. It's hard for her to say the words out loud.

After _what_? Her aunt died? Asami left for California? She and Mako broke up? She doesn't know which to pick, so she just shrugs.

_After everything_ , she thinks.  _Too many memories._ She didn't think that town would ever feel right again with no Katara, no Asami and no Mako to fall back on. So she stayed away.

Until now, of course.

If Bolin was going to question her further, it's interrupted by the arrival of the waitress with their food. Their table goes silent for a few minutes as they both dig into their plates.

She watches him carefully, and doesn't have to wait long until he picks up the conversation again.

"You know, you could've stayed with any of us," he offers, even though the thought is far too late. "You still can -- I mean, we only have the futon but you're always welcome to it, and Asami definitely has the extra space."

"Oh please, like you guys would want me moping around all summer, snoring in your living room. Besides, Hiroshi never liked me much anyway. I don't think the old bat wants me crashing at his place."

Bolin pales. "Oh... Korra, you haven't heard?"

Her fork stops mid-way to her mouth, and a thin line of syrup drops towards her plate. His tone makes her heart sink. "Heard-- no, what?"

"Hiroshi died. Two weeks ago."

She puts the fork down, her face blank.

Bolin fidgets in his seat. "Yeah... sorry no one told you. He got sick a few months back. It was quick, but --"

"How's Asami doing ?" He almost doesn't hear the interruption it's so quiet. There's guilt in Korra's eyes as she stares up at him grimly, and he tries to tone down the feeling of satisfaction at the sight.

_You'd know if you'd read her letters,_ he thinks, but bites his tongue. It's not his place, after all. He's not one to hold onto his anger, anyway. He'd much rather enjoy Korra now that she's here than spend their time together focusing on when she wasn't.

"She's uh... Well, you know her, she's tough. She's holding it together," he stumbles, but finishes strong with what he hopes is a convincing smile.

He doesn't want to worry Korra. Asami has seemed fine, after all, even if there's been something just off about his friend and the lack of grieving she went through when her father passed. The two hadn't been on good terms, sure, but Asami still loved her father.

"Holding it together?" Korra seems doubtful. "He was her only family... is she staying in that huge house all by herself?"

"Well no, actually-- she's moved in with us. She and Mako..."

Now it was Korra's turn to pale. She didn't like the sound of that. "She and Mako what?"

"No no, it's nothing. It's just, you know, the long looks, the insane amount of time they spend together. They say they're just friends but a brother always knows, Korra," he says, tapping his forehead knowingly.

"Oh." She makes a noise somewhere between a cough and a choking sound. He waits while she takes a long drink from her coffee mug.

"Well, that's just great. I mean, for them. I'm so happy for them," she says, but her voice lacks all of Korra's usual eager sincerity.

"Yeah I mean, it's good to see him smile. He got pretty down when you and Asami both left for school. Speaking of... why'd you come back?"

"Oh, that," she waves her hand as she tries to laugh it off. "Yeah. I just, went through a pretty bad breakup. Lost most of my friends over it. My parents are on a trip and I didn't have anywhere to stay so... I came home."

"Oh," he says. She feels a little guilty at the disappointment on his face. He was hoping for something grander, that she had realized how much she missed all of her friends back home and how wrong she had been to cut them off.

"Well... it's his loss?" he offers, and she can't help the dark chuckle that escapes in response.

_If only you knew how wrong you are, Bolin,_ she thinks.

"What about you?" she says, changing the subject. "Any big news?"

"Um..." he furrows his brow, trying to think of the most interesting thing in his life to share. "Oh! We're going on a trip tomorrow!"

"Oh really?" she asks, his excitement contagious.

He crunches down on a piece of bacon before continuing. "Yeah! Mako, Asami and I. Mako's been working for this rich family as a security guard. They have this son who is a total spoiled brat. Like, they bought him a beach house for his birthday, spoiled."

"Woah."

"Yeah, so Mako is going on the inaugural trip down and his bosses told him to invite a few friends since the brat doesn't have any of his own so he'll feel like it's a real party, you know? We're going to be gone for a whole month!"

The excitement is no longer contagious, and the smile drops off her face. Korra tries to hide her disappointment at the thought of the only three people she came back to see being gone for half the summer.

 First her parents left, now her friends. This summer was not off to a good start.

"Oh," she says, and winces internally at the letdown evident in her voice. "That's going to be really cool. You guys will have a lot of fun!"

Bolin doesn't seem fooled, if his frown is any indication. He looks at her for a moment before breaking out into another grin. "Hey, wait I have a great idea! You have to come with us!"

She grimaces. _A pity invite, just what I need._

"Oh, Bolin, I don't know..."

He's not deterred by her reluctance. "No no, it'll be great! You're super sad over your lost love, Asami needs a little space to clear her head and Mako can really use the vacation, the guy is like so stressed out. We'll all have a nice relaxing vay-cay at the beach house and when we come back everything will be normal and cool again!"

Korra doesn't look convinced.

He sighs. "C'mon, everyone you came home to see will be on the trip. Mako will be so happy to see you, and Asami could probably use a gal pal. You know, someone to talk to?" he says, his voice turning up with hope at the end.

It's a cheap shot, but he's betting it will work. Asami and Korra are still best friends, he reasons. Sure, they haven't talked in years, but even he could see how inseparable the two were in high school. He was only a freshman, and didn't get to spend much time with his brother's senior friends, but he rarely saw the one without the other.

He can practically see her resolve breaking as a small smile slips onto her face. "Well, let's see how the others feel, I guess."

"Yes!" he cheers, pumping a fist in the air. Korra can't help but laugh at this, and it feels suddenly as if a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," she says, picking up their check and heading towards the door.

"Nu-uh-uh, I got it," Bolin slips the piece of paper out of her hand before she has time to protest. "Think of it as payback for all the ice creams you bought me when I was a kid."

She doesn't put up an argument, and follows him to the exit.

"Reunited, and it feels so good," he sing-songs as they walk to the car.

"Bolin," she groans, but she can't help but smile. In a few hours, she was going to be back with her friends, and maybe, just maybe everything could go back to normal again.

It's only a few minutes later, when they turn onto the Bolin's road does her excitement begin to fade. Yes, Bolin was happy to have her back in his life, but what about the others? Surely they'd felt her absence as sorely as Bolin, if not worse. She and Mako had promised to stay friends after they broke up right before she left for college, but she hasn't spoken to him since. And Asami...

_Poor Asami,_ she thinks, remembering Bolin's revelation at the diner.  _She's been so alone and I didn't even know._

She's happy to see the house is still dark when they pull up. Mako and Asami are both early risers, but five in the morning is pushing it, even for them.

"Ready?" Bolin asks, taking in Korra's expression as she stares wide-eyed at the house.

"Nothing has changed," she comments absentmindedly, before turning to Bolin. He doesn't respond, but offers her a tight-lipped smile.

"C'mon," he says, and opens his door. She follows suit.

Bolin opens the door without much fuss. He turns on a dim lamp near the door. "Home sweet home," he sighs, and Korra has to fight down tears for what feels like the millionth time that night.

He takes a few steps into the small apartment, not noticing that Korra is frozen in place in the doorway. "Um, so Asami is sleeping in my room right now," he says, gesturing to the door at the end of the hall. "I've been on the couch, but I can sleep with Mako for tonight. If you want you can just leave your stuff in the living room?"

Korra nods, shaking off her stupor. She doesn't need him to show her the way. Even dimly lit, the apartment still looks the same as always. She drops her suitcase next to the couch and turns to face Bolin just as he lets out a big yawn.

"Tired?" she asks, feeling slightly guilty. He shakes his head but the drowsiness in his eyes gives him away.

"Go to bed," she insists. "I'm just going to shower first, if you don't mind?"

"S'not a problem," he says. "Bathroom's... well, you know where it is," he points with a sleepy smile. "Night, Korra."

"Goodnight."

She waits until she hears the door click closed before she gets up and starts to gather her shower supplies, making her way towards the bathroom.

It's small, and the light flickers when she turns it on. She's immediately greeted by her own reflection in the mirror, and she cringes.

_I look beat,_ she thinks.

She turns the shower on, and grabs her phone while she's waiting for the water to heat up.

Sharp green eyes stare back at her once again. She swallows thickly before unlocking the phone, quickly navigating to her messages to get that picture to disappear. Not that this is much better -- she wills herself not to check through their messages again, looking for just where it was she went wrong. Instead, she clicks on the thread with her parents.

"Got here safe!" she texts. "Bolin picked me up from the bus stop. Crashing at his place. Love you."

She doesn't expect a response this early in the morning, but knows that her mother will be checking for an update first thing when she wakes up.

She peels off her clothes before hopping in the shower. She almost groans at the feeling of the hot water, but knows she has to keep it quiet. People are sleeping, after all.

It's the first time Korra's really been alone with her thoughts in hours. She doesn't let her them wander, knowing where they'll end up. Instead, she focuses her attention on the idea of this road trip her friends depart for tomorrow. Not that the thought of that brings her much happiness either.

As much as she wants to go, she's not sure Mako will want anything to do with her, and certainly not enough to want her to come on a whole month-long vacation. He was a lot more stubborn than his brother, after all, and he knew how to hold a grudge. And Asami...

_Asami_ , she sighs as the girls name crosses her mind. She's just a room or two away now, sleeping, and its the closest Korra's been to her best friend in three years.

Korra's chest fills with dread at the thought of having to explain herself to the older girl who she had been so quick to abandon. She hates herself for letting her friend go through the death of her father alone. She'd always wished she was able to be there for her when her mother passed, and now this?

It was inexcusable, she knew. She was supposed to be her best friend. The two of them had been like peas in a pod all through high school. They'd stuck with each other through thick and thin. Asami was even the one who helped her get together with Mako.

_Ugh,_ she thinks.  _What a disaster that was._

Things with Mako were quick and messy. Everything was always a fight, always drama. It was all so high school. Looking back, she doesn't think she even loved him at all. And if she did, it was nothing like...

She sighs, thinking about the face on her lock screen once again.

Nothing like _her_ , she thinks.

Korra met Kuvira the first day of college. She'd arrived at the crack of dawn for preseason bootcamp -- they took soccer very seriously at her school -- and there she was. Team Captain and only a sophomore. She wasn't the most gorgeous girl that Korra had ever seen, not by a long shot. She grew up with Asami, after all. But there was something so attractive about the powerful way the girl stood, her voice commanding as she barked out instructions for drills.

Korra never thought she stood a chance.

Three years later, and she's proven herself right.

Everything had been fine with them for so long. At first, when Korra told Kuvira she didn't want to go public with their relationship status, she understood.

But as the months wore on, Kuvira didn't like the way Korra tried to hide their relationship even from their friends and teammates. It wasn't that she was ashamed, she'd try to explain. She was just a secretive person, she came from a small town and well, she wanted people to like her.

She didn't tell Kuvira she was scared of what her friends back home would think, of what her parents would think. Instead, she deleted her Facebook and any other social media her friends could find her on. She told her girlfriend she wanted a private life, and that worked well enough for a while.

Until Kuvira wanted Korra to come with her to the draft party, and Korra just couldn't. There would be cameras there, she explained. And when Kuvira's name got called, which it undoubtedly would, those cameras would be pointing at them, together.

She thought Kuvira would be understanding when she turned her down.

_'Maybe you can take Bataar,_ ' she'd suggested hopefully, but Kuvira balked at the idea of taking the team's waterboy. That night was the straw that broke the camels back.

Now, Korra is back home, single and heartbroken with no one to talk to. Her friends have no idea she'd even been dating someone, let alone a girl. In fact, they know nothing about her life.

_Just the way you wanted it,_ she thinks bitterly.

If only she'd never left her home city, she can't help but think. People were accepting there; she wouldn't be as worried about this sort of thing. And it's true -- Republic City is not exactly a progressive place. Despite its name, the town itself is surprisingly small and has the attitude to match. Not a city by any stretch of the word, in Korra's estimation. 

She'd made the switch from big-time city to small-town country when she was in middle school. She was old enough to notice the change in attitude from loving and accepting to... well. 

_Republic City,_ she thinks bitterly. 

She remembers when a teacher at the middle school was outed from an online dating profile a few years back. Parents turned up to school board meetings to protest his presence at the school; eventually, he was driven out of town. She heard he had to give up teaching, in the end. Asami's father had always been one of the loudest voices at those board meetings.

She shudders at the thought of her friend sharing the same mindset as her dad.

Wait, _no_ \-- that's not what is causing her shivers, she realizes. The water in the apartment shower is cooling a rapidly, and Korra resists the urge to yelp as she jumps away from the stream.

"Stupid freaking..." she mutters as she reaches for her towel. Once she's safe out of the tub she reaches back in to stop the water, now ice cold.

_Some things never change,_ she thinks to herself again. She dries herself quickly, careful to avoid the image of herself in the mirror.

Korra opens the door and sighs. Now that her eyes have adjusted to the flickering fluorescents in the bathroom, it's so much harder to see out in the dark hallway.

She walks slowly, arm outstretched on the wall searching for a switch, when suddenly --

" _Oof_!" She collides with someone, their heads clunking together in the dark.

"Ow!" she groans, rubbing her now-sore forehead.

"What the hell?" A light comes on overhead, and Korra lowers her hand to her eye to protect it from the sudden brightness.

"Korra?"

She blinks a few times, forcing her eyes to adjust. She's not really ready for what's standing before her.

Asami stands in the hall, her hair mussed from sleep. She's wearing track shorts, a thin tank-top and a soft, pink robe. Her eyes are wide in disbelief as she looks Korra up and down, seemingly unable to comprehend her friend showing up in her hallway at god knows what hour.

Korra becomes suddenly all too aware that the only thing she is wearing is a towel. She shifts uncomfortably, hiking the fabric higher across her chest. "Sorry, um--"

"What are you doing here?" Asami asks, and Korra grimaces at the sharpness in her friend's tone, the disbelief.

"Bolin picked me up at the bus stop a few hours ago. I'm uh... home for the summer?" she offers, hoping to crack the hard look behind her friend's eyes.

Something in Asami seems to soften as she takes in the sight of her old friend. "I'm glad to hear that," she says, and Korra only has a second to absorb her words before she's being pulled forward. Asami's arms are around her before she has time to process what's happening. Her breath catches as she's enveloped in her friend's embrace, her face suddenly buried in thick, black hair. The smell is comforting, and she nuzzles into it. She only gets to enjoy the warmth that fills her chest for a second before it's over.

"It's so good to see you again," Asami says, pulling back a little to look her in the eye.

"You too," she responds. She smiles nervously, unsure of herself and ground they're on.

Asami's gentle smile puts Korra at ease. She follows her as she makes her way towards the kitchen.

"Go get dressed, I'll make you some breakfast," she says, gesturing to the living room. Korra doesn't feel like arguing, and her stomach grumbles in spite of the fact that she'd just eaten hours before.

_I guess I haven't been eating that much, lately._

She throws her clothes on in the dark living room quickly, ending up in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Korra silently slips back into the kitchen, watching as the girl moves from cabinet to cabinet with way too much grace for this early in the morning, first stopping to pull out a bowl, then a pan.

 Korra has so many questions for Asami, she doesn't know where to begin. She decides to start with an easy one.

"What are you doing up this early?" she asks, glancing at the clock. It's not even six in the morning yet.

_I knew Asami was a morning person, but this is a bit extreme,_ she thinks.

Korra doesn't see Asami's frown as she turns to face the fridge. "I've been... having some trouble sleeping. Adjusting to a new place, you know?" She pulls out a carton of eggs. "Scrambled okay?"

"Right, yeah, of course. Scrambled is perfect," Korra answers.

"I've been using the quiet time to work on some blueprints," Asami continues without missing a beat. "It's hard to think once Bolin is up," she chuckles.

Korra can't help but beam back at the girl and her familiar antics. "You haven't changed one bit," she says as she watches the other girl crack eggs into the bowl. A splash of milk and garlic powder join the yolks as Asami whisks them briskly.

"Well, I can't say the same," Asami laughs, glancing up from her work. "I'm loving the hair, though."

"Thanks," Korra says. Her cheeks flush, and she looks down embarrassed.

The sound of egg hitting the hot pan makes her look up. Asami's brow is furrowed in concentration as she looks around for a spatula.

"So... I uh, hear you're going on a trip," Korra says, carefully avoiding the fact that Bolin had invited her to tag along. She expects excitement from Asami, but instead gets a long sigh.

"Yeah..." Asami says. She doesn't look up from the pan as she pushes the eggs around with a spatula.

"You're not excited?" Korra asks, surprised. After all, it's very unlike Asami she knows to not want to live it up on a beach for a month.

_She must be taking this really hard,_ Korra thinks.

"I don't know..." she says, biting her lip. "The boys think its a good idea. I don't want to crush their spirits, but I just don't see how it's going to help."

"Right," she agrees, even though she's not really sure she understands. She's never lost a parent before, never mind two.

Asami turns off the stove, scraping half the eggs out of the pan and onto a plate that she sets in front of Korra before turning back to her own.

"I just... can't wait for this summer to be over," Asami breaks the silence, unaware of the way Korra practically shrinks at the suggestion. They've been reunited for barely fifteen minutes Asami is already plotting her escape?

It had stung so much the first time Asami left her. Senior year, and the two had been planning to run off to the city together for years. Korra would play soccer at some Division I school and Asami would get her engineering degree in preparation for taking her over her father's empire. They'd been planning it since freshman year. They even had a Pinterest board dedicated to it.

That all changed the day Asami came home with an acceptance letter from Stanford.

Korra frowns, trying to shake it off the thought.

_Play it cool, Korra._

"Why, so you can run off to California again?" Korra jokes half-heartedly. She regrets the words almost as soon as they've left her mouth.

_Not cool, Korra._

She knows she has no place, after all she's put her friends through, but she still is bitter about the way Asami was so quick to leave her and abandon their plans without any sort of discussion. She'd left for orientation just days after telling Korra of her decision to move across country.

Asami laughs at the jab, but there's something darker behind it. Her eyes narrow. "Says the great disappearing woman." She bites her lip for a moment, considering her next words. After a beat, she sighs and turns to look Korra directly in the eye.

"You know I wrote to you, right?" Asami asks. She tries not to let her voice betray her, but still the bitterness seeps into her tone. It's hard not to be bitter, after all, when the girl you considered your best friend leaves for college and doesn't so much as write.

At first, Asami believed her letters weren't getting delivered. Maybe she didn't have the right address or Korra's school really sucked at delivering mail to its students. She went so far as to call her parents to make sure she'd had the right address. They told her they were sending packages without problems. Korra was probably just busy adjusting to school life, they said. Eventually she'd just had to accept that Korra didn't want to hear from her any more. She was embarrassing herself.

She stopped writing after the first semester.

"Yeah..." Korra's arm reaches over her head to scratch at the back of her neck sheepishly. "About that. I'm sorry I never wrote back, I just..."

She trails off, her eyes falling as she fails to come up with the words to explain why she let one of her closest friends slip away. There aren't any. If she's being perfectly honest with herself, she doesn't have an explanation.

She sighs and shrugs, and Asami gives her a tight-lipped smile. She had hoped for something better than a wistful sigh and a distant look, but she's more than used to Korra's inability to communicate. Still, she finds herself disappointed that this time, after all these years, nothing has changed.

"It's fine, Korra," she says, and it isn't ( _it_ so _isn't,_ she thinks) but she doesn't feel like pressing the matter will make it any better.

Just then, the door to Mako's room opens. The older boy walks out, barely stopping to glance up at Korra as he makes his way into the kitchen.

"Hey," he says simply when he comes to a rest against the counter, seemingly unsurprised by Korra's presence.

_Bolin must've told him about picking me up after we got in,_ she decides.

He grabs an apple out of the bowl on the counter and throws it in to the air before biting into it.

"Mako," she says with as much warmth in her voice as she can muster. He's eying her suspiciously from across the room. "It's good to see you."

"Welcome back," he offers in return, still unsmiling. She's not surprised. They hadn't left things on the best of terms, and she had a feeling distance had not made the heart grow fonder in Mako's case.

She gives him a tight smile in response, focusing instead on her eggs. She'd made things awkward with Asami, Mako clearly had no desire to see her.

She's thinking of a way to make her escape when Bolin stumbles out of the room.

"Oh, hey guys," he says, rubbing his red eyes. He'd only gotten two hours of sleep at most. "We're all up a little early, aren't we?"

The others just look at him as he smiles blearily. "Oh, hey, Korra! I mean, Korra's home, guys!"

An awkward silence fills the room as Mako shrugs disinterestedly and Asami nods.

"I uh, guess you all already caught up. Good, good," he says, finally sensing the tension in the room. "Got any coffee?"

He makes his way over to the machine and pours himself a mug leftover from last night and pops it in the microwave.

"Big day today, huh?" He asks as he settles in next to Mako, waggling his eyebrows at Korra.

_Crap,_ she thinks. _He's going to bring this up now?!_

Mako just grunts in response, and Korra sinks further against her seat.

Bolin isn't unnerved, oblivious as always. "So... I was thinking, what if Korra comes with us on our trip?"

Her heart practically drops out of her chest at his words. Mako furrows his brow and brings his hand to his chin, and Asami blinks in surprise.

_God,_ Bolin, she thinks. _Couldn't you have brought this up when I was in the bathroom or something?_

She wishes she had had a chance to talk to him, tell him about how obviously not thrilled Mako was with her presence and how she should probably sit this one out, as much as she didn't want to. Instead, she threads her fingers together nervously, suddenly very focused on the plate in front of her. She waits for Mako to break the silence, tell Bolin what a terrible idea this all is.

_I should have never told him I wanted to go in the first place,_ she thinks.  _I knew this is how it was going to turn out._

She's surprised when it's Asami that finally speaks up. She's even more surprised with what she says.

"That's a great idea!"

When Korra finally has the nerve to at the other girl she's grinning, her eyes sparkling in a way Korra hasn't seen in years.

"It'll be so fun! It'll be nice to have a girlfriend along for the trip. It was going to be a real boys club otherwise," she lets herself laugh for a second before stopping, suddenly sheepish. "Uh-- as long as you, like, wanted to come that is?"

"Of course I want to come!" Korra is quick to supply. "If no one minds?" She risks a glance at Mako, but his face is unreadable.

After a moment with no response, Bolin clasps his hands together excitedly. "So, it's settled? Korra's coming?"

Asami nods, grinning and Mako just shrugs.

_Good enough for me,_ Korra thinks.

"Well... I'm game if you guys are," she finally says, and Bolin whoops. Even Mako can't help but crack a smile at his brother's antics.

"The gang is back together, everyone!" Bolin shouts, throwing his arms in the air. "Group hug!"

 Korra barely has time to register his words before he's bounding towards her, reaching over and hooking an arm around her waist to pull her across the counter into a hug with the others. She ends up with her arm around Mako and Asami is in the tucked under it. Korra rests her chin on top of her head and closes her eyes, allowing herself to relax into the embrace of her friends.

_The gang is back together,_ she thinks, and smiles.


	2. don't even tell me where we're going

They finish up breakfast, Asami having to make a few more eggs for Bolin, who is hungry despite the fact that he had eaten his fill at the diner just hours before.

Mako doesn't sit and wait for them to be done eating. He stands in the corner, shuffling his feet awkwardly while Bolin makes small talk.

"We should probably get moving," Mako says, looking nervously at the bags stacked in the living room. "I'll get a head start."

The door shuts loudly behind him.

"He's still not a morning person, huh?" Korra asks once he's gone.

Bolin sighs. "Yeah, he wasn't exactly... thrilled, when I told you'd come home. But, you know him, he'll warm up!" Bolin flashes her a reassuring smile. It doesn't make her feel much better, but she figures she deserves whatever Mako has to throw at her.

"Why don't you guys go give him a hand, butter him up. I'll clean these dishes," Asami suggests.

Mako has already taken most of Asami's bags outside, so Korra follows Bolin into his room.

"So I haven't exactly finished packing yet," Bolin says, grinning sheepishly. "Mind taking my suitcase out while I pack a few toiletries?"

She ends up with his large green suitcase on wheels, which she drags clumsily through the narrow hall to the living room, where she grabs her single duffle before heading outside.

Mako has piled the bags by the curb, so Korra lugs Bolin's suitcase behind her as she makes her way down the driveway. He must hear her coming, because he turns to face her before she's gotten a chance to announce herself. He flashes her an uneasy smile that looks more like a grimace before ducking his head, passing her as he walks inside.

She sighs, dropping the bags next to Asami's purple luggage set.

Korra yawns in the bright sunlight, remembering that she didn't get to sleep last night. _More coffee_ , she thinks, hoping that Asami hadn't cleaned up her mug yet. She turns to investigate and is surprised to find Asami walking towards her.

"You forgot your coffee," she says, holding out a travel mug once she's in front of her. "So I poured you a fresh cup in something a little more... portable."

"Thanks," Korra says. "I can use it," she says, and yawns again.

"I can see that," Asami chuckles. Asami eyes the single duffle Korra slung over her shoulder. "Do you need to go pack a bag? I can drive you home."

Korra suddenly freezes. The idea of being alone in a car with Asami causes her to tense. She's not sure she's ready to spend alone-time with the girl. What would she say?

 _Sorry your father died and I wasn't here for you? Yeah, that'll go over great,_ she thinks.

She shuffles her feet, suddenly uncomfortable. "Uh, nope. This is all I have."

It's not a lie. She had left behind most of her things at Kuvira's place, and she's hasn't been to her aunt's house in years. She doesn't know what she'll find there, and if she's being honest, she's not sure she's ready to go back.

Asami opens her mouth as if she's about to say something, then bites her lip and shrugs. The door bangs behind her as the boys bring out the last of the luggage.

"If you're sure," she says.

They stare at each other for a long moment before a loud squeal breaks their concentration. A large blue van is taking the curve just before the brothers' house a little too fast, and Korra worries for a moment that the driver is about to lose control before it straightens out, heading straight for... well, _them_.

"Watch out!" Korra shouts, arm shooting forward to push Asami out of the van's path. It turns out to be unnecessary as the driver slams on the breaks just in time. The car screeches to a stop a few feet in front of them.

The boy driving hops out, a wide grin on his face as Mako walks forward to meet him.

"What... is that?" Mako asks.

The boy shrugs, looking back at the van he doesn't look old enough to drive. "Oh this old thing? Just the car my parents bought me for my first ever road trip! You likey?"

Mako walks up to the van, hand on his chin as he inspects it. It's older, definitely vintage, but the paint is fresh, and it looks as if it's been well taken care of.

"Not exactly glamorous but..." he pops open the back doors, eyeing the luggage compartment and Asami's large stack of bags waiting to be packed in the trunk. "It'll work."

"Are you kidding? This thing is _awesome_!" Bolin shouts. "It looks like it's straight out of the sixties!"

Mako smiles at his brother for the second time that morning, his posture finally relaxing as Bolin pushes past him.

"Wu, you know my brother Bolin." Bolin waves, friendly as ever. "And these are my friends, Korra and Asami."

Wu turns his attention to the girls for the first time and nearly squeals.

“Well well well, Mako, you did not tell me we'd be bringing such _lovely_ ladies with us on our trip," he says, accentuating his words with an obviously fake accent that Korra can't quite place. "Happy birthday to me."

He bows and quickly reaches for Korra's hand, grabbing it and raising it to his mouth before she has time to protest.

"Uh, nice to meet you too?" she says, uncertain. She pulls her hand back the moment his grip loosens, and shoots a glare at Mako behind Wu's back.

"You must be Wu," Asami says, always cordial.

Wu looks like he's winding up for another dramatic bow when Mako steps in. "Alright, now that we're all introduced we should probably get going. It's going to be a long drive."

"Okay everybody in, I'm driving!" Wu skips down the driveway, practically to the car when he realizes that no one is following. Korra and Bolin share and uneasy look.

Mako doesn't know how to tell Wu he isn't getting in a car with him behind the wheel. He's never been good at mincing his words, but this kid is like his boss, so he should at least _try_ , right?

He takes a few steps forward, visibly uncomfortable. "Listen, uh -- maybe it'd be best if... Well, your parents are paying me to drive, and..."

Wu's face falls slightly but he nods, and Korra wonders if he's more adept than she'd first pegged him as. The kid could take a hint. "Oh, yeah, of course. My bodyguard, my chauffeur." He turns and winks at Korra. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Korra laughs, because it's almost cute how dorky this kid is.

"Shotgun!" Wu shouts in her ear, and she reconsiders as he rushes to get in the front seat next to Mako. Asami's takes a seat on the drivers side, and Korra slides in next to her. Bolin climbs behind them into the rear bench, swinging his arms around the girls' shoulders once he's seated in the middle.

"This is going to be great!" he says, squeezing them together. "I brought my old iPod with all the songs we used to listen to in high school!"

"No music," Mako says firmly. "I need to be able to hear the GPS."

Bolin pouts for a moment before sighing, crossing his arms as he slumps in his seat.

"Alright, you grumpus," Wu says, poking Mako in the cheek. "Full speed ahead!"

Mako's "full speed" isn't very fast, it turns out.

He's never driven a car this size before, and Bolin seems antsy as Mako gets in the right lane as soon as they hit the highway. "I know!" he shouts after a few minutes of silence have gone by. "Let's play a game!"

"Ooh, great idea," Wu says. "I spy with my little eye... something... blue!"

"The sky!" Bolin guesses, happy to have someone to engage with, but Wu shakes his head.

"The van?" Korra asks, angling her head to see if Wu can see the side of the van through the side-mirror.

"Nopers," he says, a smug smile on his face. "Give up yet?"

"No!" Bolin throws his arm out. "Wait, uh, it has to be... no..." He frowns suddenly. " _Hey_ \-- there isn't anything else blue in here!"

“Why, you're forgetting the most beautiful thing in this van, Bolin," Wu says, turning to face Korra in the seat behind him. "Korra's cerulean blues," he sighs.

A collective groan echoes throughout the van. "Gross, Wu," Mako says, but he's laughing. Bolin sits up a little straighter, locking eyes with his brother in the rear-view mirror before smiling.

"I spy with my little eye..." he says, but Korra's attention is drawn away when Asami rests her hand on her knee.

"I'm really glad you decided to come," Asami says quietly. Korra smiles.

"Me too," she says warmly. "Speaking of... where exactly is it we're going?"

Asami laughs. "You're kidding. You got in a van with us and you don't even know where we're going?"

Korra just shrugs, not wanting to explain how alone she would feel in Republic City without her three friends. Without Asami.

"Well, you signed up for a sixteen-hour drive," Asami says, and Korra's jaw drops.

"You're _kidding_ ," it's her turn to say, and Asami just shakes her head, laughing.

Her shock is broken by a tap on her shoulder.

"Move over if you're not gonna play so I can sit behind Wu," Bolin says, already standing to move to the front.

Korra looks to Asami, who shrugs, before unbuckling her seatbelt and scooting closer. The van is narrow and there isn't much sitting space, so when Bolin sits down with his wide knees Korra ends up pressed against Asami, who just smiles at her at the contact.

They don't talk much more for the next few hours. Asami pulls out her notebook, brow furrowed as she scribbles with a ball-point pen. Mako chimes in every few minutes to whatever game it is Bolin and Wu are playing now -- something about license plates -- and Korra just sits back comfortably, enjoying being in the presence of her friends again.

Korra asks once what Asami is doing, but she just shrugs and says something vague about work before immediately returning to whatever has kept her pen so busy for the past three hours. Korra can't help but watch the way that Asami worries her lip between her teeth as she concentrates, her eyes focused intently on something that's troubling her on the page.

 _A drawing maybe? A new invention?_ Korra thinks. After all, Asami's father had been one of the great innovators of Republic City. He put it on the map when he opened his first factory, and brought some much-needed relief to the small town's economy. He had been a very well liked and very influential man in town.

 _And now all that's on Asami,_ Korra thinks.

Asami pauses for a moment, her pen finding its way to her lip. She bites on it lightly, and Korra finds herself focusing way too closely on how plump Asami's lips look under the pressure of the pen's tip.

 _Don't be a perv,_ she chides herself. This is her childhood best friend, after all. 

_Just because you like girls doesn't mean you have to crush on every girl you come across._

Korra tears her eyes away from Asami and forces herself to look at the road ahead.

It's almost noon when Bolin nearly jumps out of his seat. "Oh, Mako, look! A Five Guys! Can we stop, pleasepleasepleaseplease _please_?"

Mako casts a look over his shoulder, eyebrows already raised in defeat. There's no arguing with Bolin when he's hungry, but he tries anyway. "Bolin, you just ate a few hours ago."

"I know, I know, but we don't have any of these back home and who knows when we're going to see one again!"

Bolin slips under his seat belt to pop over Mako's shoulder, pointing to a blue ATTRACTIONS sign on the side of the highway. "Look, they even have a Dairy Queen! Please, big brother, I need my burger and fries."

"I'm down for food," Korra chimes in.

Asami laughs, looking out of her notebook for the first time in hours to nudge Korra in the shoulder. "Always."

Korra bites back a grin, her heart pounding a little harder against her chest.

 _Cut it out,_ she reminds herself. _You’re just… excited she’s not holding a grudge._

"I guess... I only had an apple for breakfast," Mako concedes. If he weren't in a car, Bolin would have jumped for joy. Instead, he high fives Korra over Asami's lap.

//

One hour, several burgers and way too much ice cream later, they find themselves dragging their feet as they make their way through the parking lot.

"My _god_ , that was amazing," Bolin groans, collapsing into the car seat. His hands land with a plop on his stomach, which looks to have grown twice in size. "I think I'm just gonna take a little... nap..." he says, his eyes closing before he even finishes his sentence.

"No kidding. Move over will ya, I'm taking the window seat. It's time for my siesta," Wu says, punctuating the request with an exaggerated yawn.

Bolin responds with a snore of his own.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little tired too," Mako says, rubbing his stomach. "Asami, do you mind taking the second shift?"

Korra eyes the middle seat of the van, where Bolin's laying and has already begun to drool. She can sit in the back bench, she supposes, but that'll mean she'll be in the furthest seat from the only other awake person in the car.

 _You could use a nap yourself,_ she thinks, remembering how she didn't sleep the night before.

She changes her mind when Mako speaks up. "I think I'll spread out in the back seat if you don't mind?" he asks, addressing Korra directly for the first time that afternoon.

"Of course," she says with a bright smile that goes unreturned as Mako begins to climb over his brother into the back seat.

Still, she feels relieved that Mako is at least talking to her again before realizing that sharing the front seat with Asami while everyone else is asleep in the back is exactly the sort of private moment she's been nervous about sharing with the girl all day.

Something about Asami's willingness to forgive her was scary. Korra wasn't entirely ready to forgive Asami for her transgressions, and the fact that Asami seemingly so easily forgave her for doing something arguably way worse made her uneasy.

Korra's worries are for nothing, because as soon as she leans her head against the window, she's out like a light.

//

She wakes with a start what feels like only moments later. She rubs her eyes sleepily, only stopping when she hears Asami laughing beside her.

"Have a good nap?" she asks, and Korra nods groggily. She glances at the clock and is surprised to see it's mid-afternoon, almost four hours after their food-stop.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to conk out like that. Are you okay, driving for this long? Should we wake Mako back up soon?"

Asami shakes her head, waving off Korra's concerns. "No no, it's fine. I like to drive. It's... therapeutic."

Korra pauses, considering arguing further before remembering Bolin's comment that morning ( _had it really only just been that morning?_ ) about Asami's apparent inability to grieve and holds her tongue, figuring that she shouldn't take one of Asami's few comforts away from her.

"I could use a little music though to mix things up. You mind?"

Korra glances behind her to make sure Mako is fast asleep before grabbing the AUX cord dangling from the radio and plugging it into her phone. She picks something soft and adjusts it so it's only playing out of the front speakers.

Korra lets the song play through the first verse before turning to Asami. "How are you holding up?" she asks.

She doesn't want to pry, as she's sure that she's the last person Asami wants digging into her personal life right now. Then again, with how weirdly nice Asami has been ever since Korra reappeared in her life, she isn't really all that sure. Either way, Korra feels a strong need to know what's going on with her friend. She's felt nothing but concern ever since Bolin had broken the news to her the night before.

Okay, so maybe there was a little guilt mixed in with the concern too, but Korra was pretty dead set on ignoring that as long as possible.

"I told you, I like driving," Asami says, her tone somewhat sharper than it should be. Korra frowns, surprised by the sudden change of attitude.

"No, I meant--"

"I know what you _meant_ , Korra," Asami says, tight lipped.

"Okay," Korra says, blinking in shock at the change in her friend. She'd seemed nothing but happy to see Korra this morning.

 _She probably realized what an awful person I am while I was sleeping,_ Korra thinks, frowning. _Or maybe I snore._

A few more minutes pass in silence before Korra can't take it anymore. She never has been a patient girl, and she's growing more concerned by the minute as Asami's eyes seem to gloss over. She watches as Asami swallows tightly, letting a slow breath out of pursed lips.

"I'm sorry I haven't been there for you," Korra says. "I'm sure... it hasn't been easy."

Asami laughs, as if that's the understatement of the year, and Korra pretends not to see the tears that are definitely brimming in her eyes.

If there's one thing she remembers about Asami, it's that the girl never liked to seem weak. Once in high school her ass of a boyfriend decided to break up with her by showing up to the school dance with his new date. Asami had waited until they arrived back at Korra's to even shed a tear. They stayed up all night watching a Cinderella Story on the Disney Channel.

So she doesn't push Asami when she sniffs, her hand brushing against her cheek as it rises to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

They drive a few more minutes in silence before Asami sighs.

"I have nothing left," she says, defeat evident in her voice. She pauses, glancing nervously at Korra. "I think I'm gonna have to give up the company."

The words come out in a breathless rush, and Korra takes a moment to process them before her she's immediately shaking her head. "Asami, no," she says, but her friend just laughs darkly.

"My mind is already made up," she says with a shrug. "I have school and a life in California. And I'm just getting my degree - how am I supposed to replace my father?"

 _Oh_ , Korra thinks, letting the comment about Asami's life, the one she'd started without Korra, slide.

 _Of course this is about her father._ She remembers once again Bolin's observations, and hopes this is just a manifestation of that. There is a lot of pressure resting on Asami's shoulders, coupled with the grief of losing her father. It was a lot to deal with, and Korra didn't want her friend to make a bad decision just because she was in a tight spot.

"I can't let you do that," Korra insists, her hand reaching for Asami's shoulder. "You need to take some time and think this over."

The hand is smacked away with a scoff, and Korra recoils. She shrinks further when Asami speaks, her voice low and angry.

"You don't get to just waltz back into my life and tell me what to do," Asami says, her eyes not meeting Korra's. _Probably for the best,_ Korra considers, _since she's she's driving and all._

Still, the tone of her voice makes Korra stop short, her confidence suddenly gone. She lets out a shaky breath.

"Right, no, of course," Korra says as she tries to mask the confusion from her voice.

Up until now, Asami had welcomed her back with open arms. Her stomach turns when she realizes that was all probably an act, another thing that Asami wasn't willing to deal with, would rather ignore until it reaches its breaking point.

She watches the way her friend's fingers tighten against the wheel and swallows thickly, thinking that they might've reached that point already.

"I'm sorry," she tries. "I didn't mean to... intrude."

Asami responds with a sigh.

"Just... go back to sleep, Korra," she says.

Korra presses her head against cool glass, looking anywhere but at Asami. She closes her eyes and wills herself to fall asleep, but even in her sleep-deprived state she finds herself unable to drift off.

Twenty minutes later and she's grateful to hear Mako stirring in the back.

"How you doing?" he asks quietly, and Korra's not surprised when Asami answers him without vitriol.

"We're making good time," she informs him, and Korra opens her eyes just in time to see Asami return Mako's smile through the mirror. Her stomach drops a little at the sight, and she tries to ignore the jealousy she feels at Asami’s friendliness towards the boy.

She happy when the others begin to wake in the back and Mako finally looks away from Asami.

"Good morning sleepyheads," Asami teases. Korra chooses now to make it known that she's awake, turning to face Asami, but the girl doesn't offer her a friendly greeting.

Her eyes stay glued to the road as rain begins to splat against the windows.

"Good morning, fellow roadsters. How are we... uh--what's _that_?" Wu asks, his face paling as he leans forward to look out the windshield. A huge, dark cloud looms overhead, and he gulps.

"It's just a thunderstorm," Mako brushes him off. "I checked the radar, we won't be under it for too long, maybe like an hour. Besides, Asami can drive through anything."

"An hour?!" Wu's eyes go wide before he settles back into his seat, looking stricken.

They drive a few minutes just listening to the rain as the pattering turns to loud pelts, and Korra starts to wonder if this storm is a little tougher than Mako was letting on.

Wu practically leaps into Bolin's lap when a loud crack of thunder snaps overhead. He laughs, though it sounds anything but genuine.

"What do you guys say we pull over for the night, get some rest?" he suggests, looking around the van hopefully.

"Rest?" Mako asks, incredulous. "You've been napping all day!"

"Yeah, but..." Wu pulls at his collar, not meeting Mako's eye. "I'm afraid of thunder. We can get a hotel, I'll pay."

Mako sighs. No one else in the car offers any disagreement, and he hangs his head. "Fine. But I'm getting room service for dinner."

Asami remains silent, just turns on her blinker at the next exit and starts searching for a sign for a hotel.

"There's a Hampton Inn Express on our right," Korra offers. Asami nods slightly, and takes the next turn.

//

They have to run to the entrance of the hotel it's raining so hard. It doesn't stop them from getting soaked, and Asami is shivering by the time they make it inside.

There isn't a line, Korra notes thankfully, though she wasn't really expecting one early in the evening like this.

Wu lays his shiny metallic card on the front desk as he bats his eyelashes at the blonde sitting behind it. "Five of your finest rooms, please."

"Sorry," the girl at the counter answers, barely glancing up from her computer. "We only have two rooms left. There's a convention in town," she explains when Wu splutters at her in disbelief.

"They each have two queen sized beds?" she offers. "That should be enough for the five of you."

"Well... alright. I guess those will have to do," he says. "But I get my own bed," he says under his breath, glancing back at Mako and Bolin to make sure the brother's aren't going to put up a fight.

They look at each other before shrugging -- they've been sharing a room for years, they can sleep in the same bed for a night. Korra glances at Asami, nervous at the girl's unreadable expression and how she doesn't even attempt to meet Korra's eyes at the news they'll be sharing a room together.

 _Maybe I can sleep in the bathtub,_ Korra considers as Asami reaches forward for their room card.

Asami only brought one of her bags with her, Korra notices as they walk down the hall. It's a small overnight that makes her realize that they'd been planning on spending at least one night in a hotel regardless of the weather they encountered.

Korra trails behind Asami as she counts the number on the doors, stopping before one that reads 129.

Korra frowns as she watches Asami's hands shake from the cold as she swipes the key card once, twice, before bending over, squinting and flipping the card around before sliding it through again, finally resulting a green light and a beep.

She's happy to see that the attendant wasn't lying about this being a two-bed room. Asami sets her bag down on the one nearest to the door, rifling through it and pulling out a few items before opening what Korra's assumes is the door to the bathroom and disappears inside. Her suspicions are confirmed as she hears the shower start from the other room.

Korra flops back on her bed heavily, allowing herself to sink in to the mattress for a few minutes as she listens to the shower run.

She sighs after some time has passed, pushing herself up on her elbows and reaching over to rifle through her bag until she comes up with her phone charger. She plugs the brick into the outlet and is glad when her phone blinks to life.

She sends a few quick texts to her mother, who was happy to hear that she didn't have to drive at all on the ride up and that they had settled in before it got dark. She doesn't check, but she knows there are no new messages waiting for her from Kuvira.

The shower shuts off in the other room, and Korra jumps up, scrambling to get changed before Asami re-enters. She's tying the drawstrings on her pajama pants when the door cracks, steam pouring out as Asami emerges in her robe from this morning.

Asami doesn't look at Korra as she enters, and Korra does the same, turning her eyes back to her phone.

"I'm going to bed," is all Asami says before she draws the curtains, blocking out whatever light is breaking through the dark clouds over head. The rain hasn't let up, though the thunder sounds a little more distant now.

Asami tucks herself into bed and Korra follows suit, staring at her phone for a few minutes before shutting it, the bright light getting to her eyes.

The room is so quiet that Korra has no choice but to listen to Asami's breathing. Or at least that's what she tells herself as the minutes pass and she's unable to focus on anything else.

She knows Asami has every right to be acting this way, but she had wished she hadn't hid her anger from Korra from the start. Maybe she wouldn't have come on this stupid trip if she knew everyone on it was going to be giving her the cold shoulder the whole time.

Korra thinks the other girl has fallen asleep when all of the sudden the breaths stop. She waits a beat, maybe two. One second longer and she would've said something, but a voice in the dark surprises her.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you," Asami says, so quiet that Korra thinks she's imagined it.

She responds anyway.

"You had every right--"

"I know," Asami says sternly, and Korra's mouth clamps shut. "Trust me, I know, but... as mad as I am at you for leaving, I don't really want to be. I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

"I'm not sure I understand," Korra replies honestly.

It's a few more seconds before Asami responds. "I just feel like I need every friend I can get right now, you know? And being back with you, it feels..."

Korra can't see her, but the way Asami's voice cracks as she trails off makes her think the girl is crying. She doesn't know what to say, or what to do, her hands fidgeting restlessly at her sides.

 _Should I go comfort her?_ she thinks, but remembers the way Asami had pushed her away before and reconsiders.

Asami let's out a shuddery breath, and Korra has almost decided that it's worth the risk when Asami speaks again. "I just can't handle dealing with losing my father and you at the same time."

"Okay," Korra says, shrugging even though she knows Asami can't see her.

"Okay?" Asami breathes out, turning to face Korra. Her eyes have barely adjusted to the dark yet, but she can see Asami's green eyes meeting hers anyway.

"Look, I haven't been there for you for the past three years. Let me be there now," she says.

 _It’s the least I can do,_ she keeps to herself.

"Okay, but," Asami pauses, uncertain. "We're gonna have to talk about it eventually."

"After the trip," Korra decides. "We'll take this time to get to know each other again, and at the end, we'll just see where you want to go from there?"

"Okay," Asami says after a moment. Korra's eyebrows shoot up, and she can't help the smile that tugs at her mouth.

"Okay? So, we're cool?"

She must sound a little too eager, because Asami laughs. It sounds so nice that Korra doesn't even mind that she's embarrassed herself.

"For now, yes, we're cool."

She's sure when Asami falls asleep this time, a light snore squeaking out once or twice before her slumber deepens.

 _For now, we're cool,_ Korra repeats in her head.  _You have until the end of summer._ She closes her eyes against the nervousness rising in her chest and snuggling beneath her blankets before closing her eyes and letting sleep take over.


	3. no one's gonna stick the pieces together for you

Asami is already out of bed when Korra opens her eyes. With a stretch and a yawn, she realizes that not only is she out of bed — Asami has already left the room.

Korra lays in bed for a moment, her eyes adjusting as she takes in the room.

 _If you told me a week ago this is where I'd be today, I wouldn't believe you,_ she thinks.

The room is dark, though Korra isn't sure if it's because of the time or because of the really good black-out curtains they seem to always have in these hotels.

She checks her phone and frowns.

 _Seven already?_ she thinks. _Mako wants to be on the road in a half hour_

She pushes herself out of bed and tries to shake off the sleep as she makes her way into the shower. The warm water doesn't do much to wake her up, and she's still groggy a few minutes later when she steps out. She pauses to take herself in in the mirror. Her frame is skinnier than she's used to, her collar bones protruding sharply from her chest, and she frowns as she touches them.

 _Guess I haven't been eating too much lately,_ she thinks. It makes sense. Kuvira was always more of a cook than she was, and she didn't bother to buy a meal plan for this last semester. She spent most night's at her girlfriend's off-campus apartment, and that included homemade dinners.

She grabs a hand towel to dry her hair as she leaves the bathroom, steam spilling from the room when she opens the door.

Korra nearly lets out a yelp at the sight of Asami, who is standing against the wall, brow furrowed as she types on her phone. Asami's head whips up at the sound, and she breaks into an easy smile.

"Didn't mean to startle you," she says. Korra smiles back in response, and there's a beat between them as Asami seems to take Korra in.

"Mako and I got some breakfast," she says, holding up a small brown bag. "Want a doughnut?"

Korra relaxes at Asami's apparent good mood, but her ease doesn't last long when she realizes she's wearing nothing but a towel. She tenses, grabbing at the cloth to make sure it's secure around her chest.

 _Why do you care?_ she wonders. _It’s not like Asami hasn't seen your boobs before._

Still, she holds onto her towel as she leans forward to grab the brown bag from her friend. If Asami notices her discomfort, she doesn't seem to care. Something in the way her eyes stay on Korra the whole time as she leans forward makes her shiver, and she quickly plunges her hand into the bag to cover it up.

"Mm, Boston creme," Korra says, pulling the doughnut out.

Asami winks. "Your favorite."

Korra lets out a small cough as a blush rises to her cheeks. She's not sure if she's flustered by the fact that Asami still remembers her favorite doughnut, or by something _else_ , but she decides to let it slide.

Asami breezes past her, and by the time Korra turns around the door to the bathroom is clicking shut.

She takes a big bite out of the pastry before putting it on the desk and turning to her duffle.

 _Might as well get dressed while Asami is occupied,_ she thinks.

She throws on some jean shorts and a tee-shirt, not taking much time to dig through her clothes for the outfit. She didn't bring much anyway, and fashion was never really her strong suit.

She's tugging the tee over her head when the bathroom door swings open. Her back is to Asami, and she quickly pulls down her hem before turning around.

"Ready to go?" she asks, taking in Asami's freshly applied makeup.

She nods. “The boys are outside. You’re the last one up, sleepyhead.”  
  
Korra scoffs. “It’s only seven! Besides, _some_ of us need our beauty sleep.”

“Why, Korra,” Asami admonishes. “Are you calling me ugly?”

Korra goes pale. “Uh— I, no, I just meant —“

Asami cuts her off laughing. “I’m _kidding_ , Korra. But they really are waiting for us, are you ready?”

“Right, yeah of course,” Korra laughs along nervously, trying to play off how flustered she’d just gotten. She begins to follow Asami out the door but stops short, running back to the desk to grab her forgotten doughnut.

Wu leans against the car, scrolling through something on his phone. Bolin is sitting on the edge of the trunk, sipping from a large coffee as Mako packs bags around him.

“Morning Korra,” Bolin calls, and she can practically hear the tiredness in his voice.

“Sleep well?” she teases, and he just grimaces in response.

“We’ve got to hit the road if we want to make the 12 o’clock ferry,” Mako says, and Korra’s eyes light up.

“There’s a ferry?” She hasn’t been on a boat in years, and can’t contain her grin at the thought of being on the open water again.

“A _ferry_?” Wu asks at the same time, his face paling. “Can’t we just… I don’t know, go _around_ the water?”

Mako shakes his head. “I’m not driving through the city because you’re scared of a little water, Wu. We’ll pick you up some dramamine?” he offers, and receives a strained smile from Wu in response.

They all pile into the car, and Korra tries to hide her disappointment when Asami calls out “shotgun!” She ends up behind Mako, with Bolin squished into her side.

They’ve barely made it out of the hotel parking lot when Asami is reaching for the radio. Mako stops her with a look, but Asami just beams at him.

“C’mon Mako, what’s a road trip without a little music?" Asami asks, and Korra swears she sees her actually bat her eyelashes at Mako for a moment before he rolls his eyes, reaching forward to press the POWER button on the radio.

 _“I’m a child of backseat freedom, baptized by rock and roll,”_ a male voice croons.

Bolin and Wu waste no time returning to their car games — this one has something to do with road signs, and Korra is quick to tune them out. Mako and Asami are talking, but she can’t hear what they’re saying over the music. Instead, she takes to her Instagram feed, scrolling through the photos she’s missed over the past few days.  
  
_Lots of reunions_ , she notes, looking at pictures of her friends as they arrive home from college. _A lot happier than ours._

She pauses when she reaches a photo of one of Kuvira’s friends with her arm slung around none other than Kuvira herself. She doesn't remember the girl’s name. She went to the same school as them, but Korra hadn’t ever had a chance to meet her. Korra did always find it a little weird that she never met one of her girlfriend’s oldest friends. 

_Then again, she never met mine either,_ Korra thinks, looking around at the group in the car.

Mako reaches forward to change the radio station, groaning when he can’t find anything suitable.

“Why is every station out here country?” he asks, cycling through the numbers a second time. “I thought we left all that behind in Republic City.”  
  
“Hey, _that_ sounds like a line from a country song!” Bolin says enthusiastically, putting on a drawl as he repeats Mako’s words. “Left it all behind in Republic City…”

Wu picks up the next line, singing something nonsensical that somehow manages to sound good.

By sixth verse, they’re all begging them to stop, but it takes until the ninth for Mako to find a station playing not playing country music. They travel for the next five minutes with Spanish music playing at full volume.

//

The car has quieted down in the last hour. Mako finally found a station that played classical music, of all things, that he insisted it was his right as the driver to play. Wu entertained himself with a GameBoy of some sort — Korra didn't know, she was never really good with video games. Asami, meanwhile, had returned to her notebook, and although Korra couldn’t quite see what she was writing, she could tell there was a ton of it. Bolin has found headphones, and is bopping his head along to whatever music he’s playing.

 _Probably that playlist he mentioned_ , Korra thinks.

 _“In one mile, take exit…”_ the GPS says clearly over Bach or Beethoven or whoever’s music is playing over the radio, and a cheer goes up throughout the car.

“Just in time,” Mako says, eyeing the clock.

 _11:25_ , Korra notes. _Five minutes to spare_. _Thank god we didn’t have to make any pit stops!_

Bolin darts out of the car as soon as they’re parked in line for the ferry, making a bee-line for the bathroom.

He returns a few minutes later with a hotdog in his hand.

 _Always count on Bo to find food,_ Korra thinks.

Her stomach lets out a loud poorly timed growl as she lays eyes on the bun in his hands, and she and Bolin share a look before bursting out laughing.

“C’mon, I’ll show you where the food is at,” he says, turning back the way he came. Korra glances behind her before leaving, but Mako is talking to a ferry attendant and Asami is conversing with Wu, and judging by the dopey smile on the kid’s face she does _not_ want to interrupt.

“Two hotdogs, please,” she orders at the counter. “And extra relish.”  
  
“Condiments are over there, sweetie,” the woman says, pointing to a messy counter with a few bottles of Heinz on it. “It’ll be a few minutes.”

Korra and Bolin sit at a picnic table while they wait for her order. They haven’t gone far, just around a corner, and if she leans back she can see the tail-end of their van.

 _The ferry isn’t leaving until 12 anyway_ , she thinks, but can’t help but continue to check that the van is still there or for a glimpse of her friends. She feels bad that she left Asami in what was probably a very awkward situation, and is about to ask Bolin to wait for her while she checks on her friend when he speaks up.

“So,” he says. “You and Mako talk yet?”

“No,” Korra sighs. She bites her lip, wondering if she should say what was on her mind. She’s never had to hide anything from Bolin, though, and she’s not going to start now. “He won’t give me the time of day. _Asami_ on the other hand,” she says, about to tell him about their conversation the night before, but he interrupts.

“I _know_ right? They can’t keep their hands off each other. You know they went out to get breakfast this morning? I caught them when they got back,” he says, throwing a look over his shoulder to make sure they’re still alone. “They were _hugging.”_

Korra’s jaw drops. _“Wh—_ well, that doesn’t really mean anything,” she’s quick to reason. “I mean, she’s going through a rough time, you know?”  
  
“Right,” he says, sure to draw out the word for a second too long before giving Korra a sympathetic look, his lip pouting out. “Sorry. Forgot you guys had _history,_ ” he throws the word in quotes with his fingers. He had never been thrilled about the relationship between his brother and his friend, and for good reason. It had driven a major wedge in Bolin’s relationship with both Mako and Korra.

“Oh no, it’s not about that,” Korra insists. She’s not sure whether or not she’s lying.

 _You don’t have feelings for Mako anymore_ , she tells herself, and she _doesn’t_. She got over them long ago. She recognizes them for what they were: a high school romance, barely scratching the surface of real love.

_Of what I had with —_

“Sweetie, your dog is ready,” the woman’s raspy voice breaks into her thoughts, and Korra has never been happier to see a hot dog in her life.

//

The ferry is pretty empty, considering that it’s the middle of a weekday. They could have their pick of booths along the windows, but Bolin runs straight for the stairs, heading up to the open top deck.

They split up, with Wu trailing behind, shivering in the cold. Mako and Asami head for the front of the boat, as Bolin climbs on everything in sight.

Korra takes her time exploring, walking from one edge of the boat to the other. It had been so long since she had been on a boat, and she savors every moment the water moves beneath her. She’s not sure how long she stays like that, lost in the sway of the water as she leans against the rail.

“Hey, Korra,” a soft voice says behind her, and she’s surprised to see Wu standing with his hands in his pockets behind her.

“I thought you were going to head inside. You look pretty cold,” she says, hoping to sound playful, but Wu’s smile doesn’t seem to reach his eyes, his teeth chattering.

“Got lonely,” he says. “Thought I’d come check out the scene up here.”  
  
“Well, this is the best part,” Korra says, looking out as the boat begins to gain some distance from the land. “Watching it all disappear behind you.”

Wu doesn’t seem so sure, reaching forward to grab the railing when a bit of a larger wave hits.

“As long as you’re having fun, m’lady,” he says, his slick smile replacing the look of worry there moments before. She doesn’t respond, eyes trained on the horizon, and the look drops back off his face. “You guys um, _are_ having fun, right?”

Korra’s face softens. She’s giving the kid a hard time because he’s so _rich_ , and it’s hard not to resent a person who has everything handed to them so far, but he seems a little insecure, and she supposes confidence is one thing money really can’t buy.

“Yeah,” she says, letting a genuine smile take over her face. “Thank you for inviting me. Oh, and happy birthday!”  
  
“Thanks,” he says, giggling in a way that makes Korra question how old the kid really _is_. “But you’re early. It’s not actually until next week.”

 _His parents sent him away on his birthday?_ She frowns, but decides not to comment.

“I’ll bake a cake,” she says instead. Wu’s grin makes her think he doesn’t realize she was kidding, and she has a feeling she’ll have to buy a box of Betty Crocker at some point this vacation. “Come on, let’s go find the others.”

They cross from one end of the boat to the other, and Wu’s teeth chatter louder as they walk against the wind. They round the stairwell just in time to see Mako slinging his jacket over Asami’s shoulders, and Korra’s heart sinks a little in her chest.

 _So what if they’re dating or… whatever?_ she thinks. _I guess it might get in the way of Asami and I rebuilding our friendship, but, if it makes her happy…_

She sighs, unhappy that the sinking feeling is apparently there to stay.

Bolin notices Wu and Korra walking toward them, raising his hand in a wave. Asami’s eyes light up as they land on the pair, and Korra can’t help but return her bright smile. But then her eyes find something behind Korra’s head, and they grow even wider.

She leaves Mako’s side and heads towards Korra, just as the other girl turns to look behind her, finding one of those telescope viewfinders attached to the side of the boat.

“Do you have a quarter?” Asami asks, excitement clear in her voice. Mako’s pockets are empty as he turns them out. Korra digs into her own, grateful when her fingers clasp the familiar cold metal of a coin. She holds it up with a grin, and Asami grabs her hand to lead her over to the machine.

She pops in the quarter and ducks down, her face near Korra’s level and for the first time she realizes how much Asami has _grown_ since she saw her last.

“Wow, look!” Asami says, pointing towards the land the boat is fast approaching, her eyes still glued to the telescope. Suddenly her arm is around Korra as she pulls the other girl forward, taking a small step back as Korra replaces her at the telescope. She keeps her hand on the viewfinder, and Korra tries to ignore the way her her heart picks up speed at the way she’s trapped beneath the taller girl, her height once again glaringly obvious.

“Pretty neat,” Korra says, barely taking in what’s in front of her.

“You can say that again,” Asami laughs in her ear, and Korra jumps away.

“Let me see,” Bolin calls just in time, and Korra takes a few steps away from Asami, too aware of how hot her face feels even in the breeze. Asami glances worriedly at her for a second, but is quickly distracted when Bolin jerks the viewfinder, losing track of whatever Asami had found so fascinating.

“Whoops,” Bolin says sheepishly.

“Hey Bo, where did Mako and Wu go?” Korra asks, realizing that the other two had disappeared while they had been looking at the approaching coast.

“They went to go get hot chocolate. Wu looked pretty cold,” Bolin says, and Korra’s happy to hear that his tone is more concern than mockery.

She fakes a shiver. “I’m beginning to think they had the right idea,” she says, despite the heat still in her cheeks. “I’ll meet you guys downstairs?”

Asami doesn’t look away from the telescope as she throws Korra a thumbs up, and Bolin waves at her as she turns down the stairwell.

Mako and Wu have found a booth, and Wu’s hands are wrapped around a steamy cup of hot cocoa.

“Korra!” Wu greets her enthusiastically. Mako looks up, and she doesn’t know whether or not to be grateful that he’s at least acknowledging her.

“Just looking for the bathroom, Wu,” she says, only stopping at the table to steal a quick sip of Wu’s cocoa. He doesn’t know whether to be offended that she stole his drink or flustered, and she leaves him before he has a chance to decide.

She’s washing her hands when the voice comes over the loudspeaker asking everyone to return to their cars. When she leaves the bathroom, Mako and Wu are already gone, and it takes her a few tries to find the right stairwell leading down to the van on the bottom floor of the boat.

They’ve already all taken their same seats, Mako apparently refreshed from the time on the boat, and it’s not long before they’ve all taken up their previous activities, Bolin and Wu playing some hand game while Mako fidgets with the radio. Korra’s eyes trail on Asami, who has pulled out her notebook again but is no longer writing in it, just frowning down at the pages.

They’re barely back on the road for twenty minutes when Bolin jumps out of his seat.

"Mako, look! A Chipotle!"

Mako groans, not putting up an argument as he turns on his blinker.

//

 _“In a quarter mile, the destination will be on your right,”_ the GPS instructs. Everyone in the car seems pleased but Mako, who frowns.

“I can’t believe you don’t know the house number, Wu,” he says, slowing as they approach the private road.

“I dunno, they just said it was the one at the end,” he says. “They said we can’t miss it!” he adds when Mako doesn’t seem satisfied.

The road is narrow and winding, and Mako grits his teeth as he slowly maneuvers.

"Can't even see what's ahead of us," he mutters under his breath, and Asami laughs. Korra sinks further into her seat as the incline increases.

Bolin looks almost green by the time the reach the end of the hilly road. There's only one house at the end of it, a two-story on stilts tucked into the bluff.

The smell of salt and the sea hits her nose as soon as she opens the van door and she smiles. It's a familiar scent, one she hasn't really been able to enjoy since she was a child. She closes her eyes, breathing it in, and wondering if it's just her imagination that she can hear the waves crashing from here.

Bolin knocks into her as he climbs out of the seat behind her. An apology is on the tip of his tongue when he stops short, taking in the sight before them.

“Whoa. This is yours?" Bolin asks, eyes wide.

Wu pops out of the van, taking in the house before them. "Yeah, my parents bought it after they had a little hurricane or something up here. Destroyed a bunch of property, you know. They fixed this one up for me!" he says, gesturing widely at the house before his arms drop. "Uh-- I honestly thought it'd be a bit bigger."

"This is bigger than our house, Wu," Mako deadpans, and Wu laughs nervously.

"Oh, you!" he says, punching Mako in the arm. If he notices the way Mako's fists clench, he doesn't show it, practically skipping as he starts down the path towards the house.

"Don't worry about it, we'll get all the bags," Mako mutters under his breath. Bolin is already at the trunk, piling as many bags as he can into his arms. Korra remembers that he used to do that with groceries when they were kids, never wanting to have to return to the car for a second trip.

Korra grabs her duffle and one of Asami's bags before following Wu down the path, looking up at the house as she goes. The sun is low in the sky, shining through the bungalow's many windows.

She pulls out her phone and snaps a quick picture before continuing. Mako rolls his eyes as he passes her, but Bolin stops to hold the door open as they make their way into the house.

Asami is standing in the kitchen, running her hands along the counter space. The house isn't huge, but it’s a pretty open floor plan, with a kitchen, dining room and living room sharing one large space. Korra enters just in time to see Wu disappear down the only hallway, running around the house like a kid who has had too much sugar.

He returns to the kitchen not ten seconds later, dejected.

"Only two bedrooms," he whines, and Mako raises an eyebrow at him. Wu shrinks under the older boy's scrutiny. "Well, they said there'd be three!"

"Hey, what's up here?" Bolin asks, tugging at a string that pulls down a ladder. Wu scrambles up, peeking his head into the dark space. Bolin hands him a phone with the flashlight turned on.

Wu's voice sounds muffled, but his groan of relief is clear. "Oh, thank god, I could not handle sharing a room with you two _snorers_ for another night."

"Let me see!" Bolin shouts, pulling on the bottom of Wu's shirt until the boy descends. "Oh _hell_ yeah, I've always wanted to have a cool attic bedroom!"

"That settles it then," Wu says. "You boys up stairs. I'll take the master. Ladies, may I show you to your room?"

The hall only has three doors, one of which is already open, revealing a bathroom. Wu leads them into the room on the right. It’s small but quaint, with twin sized beds pushed against two of the walls.

It smells like mothballs, and Asami moves quickly to open the window.

"I guess some old people must've owned this before," Wu says uncertainly, looking around the room. There are pastels of shells and starfish along the wall, with matching quilts on the beds. "My parents said they were gonna redecorate..."

"It's charming," Asami says with a smile, putting her bag down on the bed. Wu returns her smile twofold, and Korra resists the urge to roll her eyes.

A sudden cry comes from the other room, and Asami wastes no time in going to check it out. Korra is quick to follow, with Wu trailing behind.

In the kitchen, they find all the cabinets thrown open. Bolin stands in front of the fridge, looking comically distraught as he stares at the empty shelves.

"There's no food," he says as he turns to the group. Mako sits at the island, looking unamused as he watches his brother.

"No food?" Wu asks, frowning. "Well, no problem!"

Bolin's eyes light up as Wu walks forward, clapping his hand against Mako's shoulder. He pulls away when the older boy shoots him a glare, but he doesn't seem totally discouraged. "Mako, whadd’ya say you, Bolin and I head down to the grocery store, pick up some grub?"

Korra's eyes fly quickly to Asami. It might be nice to get to talk to her one-on-one, and being alone in the house for a little bit while the boys are out might be just the right time.

 _We have a lot of catching up to do,_ she thinks, but her thoughts are interrupted by Mako's scoff.

"Oh no, I am _not_ driving back down that road again today," Mako says, arms crossed.

Korra frowns. Alone time with Asami _and_ Mako is somehow less appealing, and she tries to tell herself it has nothing to do with the looks the two have been exchanging all day.

 _A brother always knows,_ she hears Bolin's words echo in her mind. As much as she didn't want to believe it, she too had the feeling there was something more between the pair.

"I'll drive!" Asami offers, and Wu claps his hands in delight.

Korra breathes a sigh of relief that the Asami is willingly putting some space between her and Mako, but her stomach drops a second later when she realizes that that will leave just Mako and Korra alone in the house.

Before she has time to protest, Bolin is out the door, always excited at the prospect of food, and Wu and Asami trail behind him.

Mako is left standing at the kitchen counter, staring after them. Korra can tell this was definitely not what he had in mind when he'd turned down driving.

"I'm gonna go unpack," Korra says, not meeting his eyes as she walks past him into the hall.

She looks at her duffle on the bed and frowns. _Not much to unpack,_ she thinks, but gets to it anyway, putting her clothes in her half of the wooden dresser that sits between the beds. It only takes a minute, and soon she finds herself sitting on her bed, staring at the paintings of starfish on the walls.

 _Now what?_ she asks herself. _You're just gonna sit in here and avoid Mako until everyone else gets home?_

Korra hears the door open and a moment later and almost gets her hopes up that the three had returned in record-breaking time. But it’s the back door, not the front, that opens, and Mako catches her eye through the window as he makes his way out on the back deck, looking over the beach.

She watches him for a moment, then sighs.

_You're going to be with him for a whole month. Do you really want to spend it like this?_

Korra doesn't give herself time to change her mind as she pushes off her bed and walks into the hallway. It's quiet, but she doesn't stop to appreciate the serenity.

 _It's now or never,_ _Korra._

She opens the door to the back deck, stepping out onto the hot wood. Mako's arms rest on the rail, his face unreadable as he stares out at the waves.

 _Oh, Mako,_ she thinks. _Always brooding._

She doesn't want to surprise him, so she decides to announce her presence.

"Hey, Mako." It's softer than she'd like, but she thinks it does the job. He doesn't turn, but he does finally blink, a flash of a frown tugging at his lips before he returns to neutral. Korra steps forward.

"I was hoping we could talk?"

He doesn't respond, but stands up straight, eyes still locked on the beach in front of him.

 _That's probably the best you're going to get out of him,_ she thinks.

She takes a deep breath, knowing she'll need it if she's going to get through everything she has to say. "I'm sorry I left. And that I didn't call, or write, or... anything. I was just going through a hard time and I just wanted to try to get some control over what was happening to me. So… I left. And I know I hurt you, but I'm willing to work to make it up to you."

Her words come out in one rehearsed rush, and she sighs when Mako doesn't seem to even hear her.

 _That speech sounded a lot longer in my head,_ she thinks, fidgeting as she tries to find something to fill the awkward silence that has settled over them. She doesn't need to wait long. Mako turns to face her, and Korra finds herself wishing for the silence again at the dark look in his eyes.

"When you left, you didn't just hurt me. You hurt Bolin, too," he says, his voice soft but firm. "I don't like seeing my little brother hurt, Korra."

"I know," she responds, her eyes downcast. When she left, Bolin had been just a kid. Sixteen and the friendliest, most genuine person she had every met. The thought of hurting him makes her sick, and she's struck with the realization that she doesn't really know how much damage she caused when she left. Now isn't the time to ask, however, so she keeps her eyes low and lets Mako continue to speak.

"But Bo has forgiven you. And I...I understand why you did what you did. It hurt, but... I get it."

This takes her by surprise. "You do?"

He shrugs. "Asami left. Your aunt died. We broke up.” She blinks, startled by the stark way he just lays it all out in front of her. People had been dancing around her aunt's death since she got that awful call.

"I know what it feels like to lose everything and want to run away," he says, making eye contact with her for the first time. She's not sure whether or not to be relieved that it isn't anger that she sees there, but sadness.

 _Right,_ she thinks. _His parents_. Mako had never really told her about them, but she knows he felt the loss in a way that had changed him forever. Bolin may have been too young to remember, but Mako was a kid.

He continues. "I've always had something holding me back. But like I said, I get it. I don't like what you did, but I can't hold it against you."

"Thank you, Mako," she says, her voice serious. She waits a beat to make sure he has nothing else to add. "Friends?"

He laughs at this. "Of course. Always. I wouldn't have invited you on this stupid trip if we weren't."

Korra relaxes, returning Mako's smile for a second before it quickly drops, the expression replaced with mock offense. "Wait a second, Bolin invited me!"

"We both know that if I didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here," Mako says with a serious look. He only holds it for a moment before breaking. "I'm glad you're back, Korra."

She isn't expecting it when he reaches forward and wraps his arms around her back, pulling her close. She squeezes back, further surprised by how easy it feels to be in his arms again. But unlike the last time she saw him, there isn't any fire behind it, nothing tugging at her heartstrings.

She sighs and leans her head against his shoulder, taking in the comfort of his embrace.

Korra and Mako had a blaze of a romance. They knew each other since they were kids and had dated other people throughout their school years. If Korra is being honest, she'll tell you she always had a little bit of a crush on the older boy growing up. She's not sure what changed senior year, but suddenly that spark was ready to blow.

 _And explode it did,_ she remembers, _in one fiery mess._

They kissed for the first time at a school dance. Mako was wearing a suit, she remembers, because she'd grabbed his lapels to pull him in. It was like fireworks. He broke up with his girlfriend the next day, and so began a whirlwind of a romance that ended a year later in Korra skipping town.

When Bolin first mentioned going to visit Mako and Asami, Korra worried there would be some unresolved feelings between the two. Of course, there wasn't much time for that with Mako ignoring her, but now that they were on good terms again... The spark would always be there, so to speak, but they just hadn't worked. Maybe it was because they were young and immature, or maybe they were just really better off as friends.

 _Only time will tell,_ she thinks, dropping her arms to her sides as Mako pulls away.

"Mako could you help me m-- oh, I'm sorry," Asami's eyes are wide as she looks at the pair, Mako's hands still on Korra's shoulders. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Not at all," Mako says, easily sliding away from Korra to grab the bags in Asami's hand. "This all of them?"

Asami laughs. "Oh no. Bolin did the shopping, Wu took care of the bill. A lethal combination. I think we have enough snacks to last us the whole month."

“Great, so they'll be gone by tomorrow?" Mako jokes. "I'll go give them a hand before Bolin decides he can carry them all himself. Not like Wu is going to help, right?"

He walks back through the door, leaving Asami and Korra on the deck alone.

Korra watches Asami as she takes Mako's spot against the rail, leaning forward to look at the beach below. She takes a step forward to follow, but pauses.

 _Don't be nervous_ , Korra, she chides herself. _It's just your best friend._

"It's beautiful," she says, regretting the words as soon as their out of her mouth.

 _Way to pick the most cliche possible thing to say,_ she thinks.

Asami doesn't seem to mind, humming as she nods in response.

"I haven't been to the beach since I was a kid," Asami says a few seconds later. Korra has to strain to hear, her voice is so soft. "My parents took me on a trip to a place not unlike this."

"Well I grew up practically living on the water," Korra says. Asami nods again— she knows this about Korra, of course, but it’s still nice to share with each other. “I can’t wait to hit the waves tomorrow.”

It's another few minutes of comfortable silence before the boys return. The sun will be setting soon, and Mako looks around the deck, eyes lighting up when he spots a fire-pit in the corner.

"I'll get a fire started. You guys bought hot dogs, right?”

//

Soon they’re all sitting around the fire, each roasting their own dinner over the flames.

Bolin holds two skewers, rotating them slowly, biting his lip in concentration. Korra’s pretty sure she’s never seen Asami eat a hotdog, and she gets a sneaking suspicion that the girl has never even _had_ one when she seems surprised at her first bite.

“You know, these are actually pretty good,” she says, mouth full. Bolin nods in agreement, finally losing patience and pulling his away from the flames.

Mako stands. “I know what’ll make them even better,” he says, before disappearing inside.

“Here," he says when he returns, holding a blue bottle out to Korra. She grins, pulling her kets out of her pocket to get a bottle opener before taking a long swig of the cold beer.

Asami wrinkles her nose. “Ugh. I'm not sure how you guys drink that stuff."

"That's what I'm saying!" Bolin nods. "Tomorrow our first stop is the liquor store, I'm making us some bay breezes."

“What’s a bay breeze?” Wu asks, brow furrowed.

“Something I know for a _fact_ you’re too young to be drinking,” Mako says, wagging a stern finger at him before breaking out into a laugh. Wu seems at a loss for what to do that Mako is _joking_ with him, and chuckles awkwardly.

Bolin pulls Korra into a hug, and she relaxes into his shoulder. Asami tugs on her legs, lying them out over her lap, and Korra smiles at her for a moment before Asami seems to get distracted staring into the flames, her hands coming to rest against Korra's shins. 

Korra allows her head to fall back against Bolin, and listens to the sound of the firing crackling as she stares up into the sky, the stars much brighter here than they’d ever been at her school. Bolin starts pointing out the constellations to her, and she thinks that maybe this trip wasn’t such a bad idea, after all.


	4. these are the things we lost in the fire

The sound of the shower starting in the next room over rouses Korra from her sleep with a groan.

 _God ‘Vira, it’s too early,_ she thinks, rolling sleepily onto her side. Kuvira for some reason always preferred to take her showers _before_ practice. Korra has never really seen the sense in it — ‘ _you’re just going to get all sweaty anyway’_ — but there was really no arguing with the older girl once she had set her mind to something.

Korra cracks her eyes open, hoping to get a glimpse of the clock, but quickly slams them shut.

 _Ugh, she left the curtains open again_ .

Kuvira has never been particularly sensitive to her girlfriend’s sleep needs. Not that Korra has much room to complain — she needs to get her ass out of bed if she’s going to make it to practice on time. Still, are just a few more sweet seconds of sleep too much to ask? Korra grunts, flipping towards the wall and pulling the blanket up over her head to block out the offensive sun.

Not a minute later, the shower turns off from the room next door. She has just dozed off when she hears the knob turn and the soft patter of footsteps as someone makes their way into the room.

Her eyes are still full of sleep as she cracks them open. She smiles at the girl across the room, bent over the dresser as she quietly ruffles through the clothes there.

 _Legs that go on for miles_ , she thinks, a small grin tugging at her lips. It was one of the first things she noticed about Kuvira, and she had told her as much on their first date. It wasn’t her best move, but it had somehow worked. She’d ended up with a second, after all.

“Good morning, baby,” she says, trying to suppress a yawn as she does so.

“Well, that’s a new one,” a voice replies, and Korra bolts straight up, suddenly much more awake than she was just a moment ago.

“Asami!” she squeaks out. If she wasn’t already embarrassed, the way her voice just cracked would have turned her beat read. But the way she was just ogling her best friend has done the job well enough, and her cheeks are burning as she takes in the sight of the other girl.

“Expecting someone else?” Asami laughs, and Korra is sure she looks ridiculous, bright red with bed head.

She tries to push the thought of Asami’s legs out of her mind as she swallows thickly, hoping that her voice will come out at more of a normal pitch. “No, just a… weird dream,” she offers, her voice even if not a bit shaky.

Asami seems to buy it, nodding as she turns her attention back towards her clothing.

“What do you think we’re doing today?” Asami asks, picking up a small skirt.

“I don’t know… beach?” Korra answers hopefully. They’d barely gotten to spend any time on the beach yesterday, and she was dying to get in the water.

Asami nods, picking up a bathing suit and dropping her towel down to her waist, her back to Korra as she slips on the top piece. Korra blinks, eyes immediately drawn to Asami’s exposed back, and practically jumps from the bed.

“Uh— I’m going to go see what the boys are up to.” The words are rushed, and judging by the confused look on Asami’s face she probably didn’t understand them, but Korra doesn’t stop to think about it as she quickly makes her way out of the room.

She groans as she walks into the kitchen, the sun glaring into the room through the wall of windows facing the beach. She barely has time to register that Bolin is standing at the counter while Mako searches the fridge before she raises her hand to cover her eyes.

She sits down at the island, head coming to a rest against her palms. “Jesus, how many did I have last night?”

Bolin sets a glass of water in front of her. “I don’t know, I lost count.” She looks up to see him smiling impishly at her. “You kept saying that at college they called you the—“

“Oh _god_ ,” she groans. “Please tell me I did not tell you guys about that.”

He laughs, and her head returns to her hands. “Drink up!” he says, nudging the glass of water closer towards his friend.

“I’m making pancakes,” Mako decides, pulling out a carton of eggs. “Who wants some?”

Bolin looks moony-eyed at his brother, and Korra raises her hand as she sips the glass Bolin set in front of her.  
  
“Pancakes sound great,” Asami says, hair still up in a towel as she enters the kitchen. Korra’s happy to see that she’s added a shirt to her outfit for the day, though the jean-shorts she’d decided on were definitely not helping her get rid of her earlier thoughts.

“Anyone heard from Wu this morning?” Korra’s eyes snap back up to her face, grateful to see that Asami hadn’t noticed her staring. No one responds. Asami sighs. “I’ll get him up.”

Mako snorts. “Good luck. That kid could sleep through anything.”

Korra downs the rest of her water, standing up to make her way into the bathroom. What she finds in the mirror is not a pretty sight.

“ _Yikes_ ,” she mutters under her breath, running a hand through her hair. When it was longer, the worst it would get was a little knotted in the back when she slept. Now that it’s shorter and lighter, it sticks up in all directions. She does what she can with a brush and some water before pulling it back into a short, messy ponytail.

She splashes some water on her face, rubbing the last of the sleep from her eyes. She considers taking a shower, but figures that she’ll want one later after she’s all salty from the water. Besides, pancakes won’t take _that_ long to make, and Mako will probably be pissy if she misses his meal.

 _I’m glad he’s not mad anymore_ , she thinks, remembering the hug they shared yesterday. It was comforting in more ways than one. She’d gone into this trip blindly, not knowing what to expect from any of her friends, but Bolin has made her feel at home, Mako has finally forgiven her, and Asami…

 _Asami_ . Korra tries to ignore the shudder that goes down her spine at the thought of the other girl. She closes her eyes against the image of the girl getting dressed this morning replaying in her head. _You were asleep_ , _it’s not your fault. You were confused._

She’d never really noticed the similarities between her ex and her best friend. _They’re similar in stature, hair color, eye color…_ Korra sighs. She leans down to the sink again, splashing her face with cold water to shake the thought before leaving the bathroom.

She’s greeted by the sizzle of batter on the griddle and the smell of fresh pancakes when she enters the kitchen. Mako is standing at the stove, attentive as he watches the three pancakes fry in front of him, waiting for the perfect moment to flip them.

 _He’s always been a good cook. I guess it comes with having to take care of Bolin from such a young age_ , she figures, watching as he flips the flapjacks one by one.

Bolin and Wu are at the island. Wu looks exhausted, stirring an untouched coffee in front of him absentmindedly before taking a sip. He makes a face, and Korra is almost surprised when he actually swallows the bitter liquid instead of spitting it back into the cup.

“Blegh. You guys officially have the worst taste,” he says, sticking his tongue out. He stares at his mug sadly for another moment before turning to Mako. “Can I have a chocolate milk?”

 _Just how much stuff does Mako usually do for this kid anyway?_ she wonders, watching as Wu batts his eyelashes at Mako. It doesn’t work. Mako glares at him over his shoulder, making it clear he would not be abandoning his post, and Korra can’t help but laugh as she walks over to the fridge to get the milk for Wu.

“So, I was thinking we’d hit the beach today,” she says, pouring some of the gallon into a tall glass. She looks around for a moment, puzzled, before Bolin points to a cabinet behind her. She opens it to find a giant jug of chocolate syrup.

“Sounds good,” Mako agrees. “I think I saw some boogie-boards in the shed.”

Korra grins at him, and he returns her smile. “Awesome.”

“You guys have fun,” Asami says, and Korra startles. She didn’t hear the other girl come into the room, but she’s standing behind her now, hair out of its towel and just beginning to wave. “I, personally, need to catch up on my tan.”

Wu’s eyes light up. “ _Yes!_ I even brought my reflector!”

“Wait, like the things they used to use in like the sixties?” Bolin furrows his brow. “Do those things even work?” He turns to Asami, who just shrugs.

“Of _course_ they work, Bolin,” Wu draws out, rolling his eyes. “Will you help me put on my tanning oil?” he turns with a slick smile to Asami, who tightens her lips at him. She doesn’t respond as she walks over to Mako, peering over his shoulder to check on the pancakes.

“That one is starting to bubble,” she points out, and he shoots her an annoyed look. She raises her hands up as he flips the pancake she was pointing to, revealing a golden brown edge. “Just saying!”

Mako doesn’t respond, keeping his back to Asami, and she frowns at him for a second before backing off. “Korra, want to help me set the table?”

Korra nods, opening the cabinet she’d just found the chocolate syrup in and rummaging around for some paper plates. She comes up empty handed, and has to look to Bolin, who points to the cabinet in the corner.

She follows Asami into the dining room. They go one by one, setting down plates, napkins and utensils around the table. They spend most of it in silence, and Korra is almost ready to head back to the kitchen when Asami speaks.

“Do you think Mako is acting weird?” she asks, her eyes focused on the table setting.

“Uh… I don’t know,” Korra says, shrugging. He’s been weird to her the whole time they’ve been together, but for good reason. She hadn’t noticed any tension between her two friends, however. “He and I sort of made up yesterday.”  
  
“Oh,” Asami says, and Korra pretends not to notice the slight frown on her face. “That’s great news! So you guys are back to best friends?”

Korra laughs nervously. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. It’s not like we can just go back to the way things used to be.”  
  
Asami’s eyes meet hers for the first time in a few minutes. “Yeah, I guess not.”

 _Smooth, Korra. Now she thinks you’re talking about her._ She flashes Asami what she hopes is a reassuring smile before turning to peek in the kitchen. Mako has finished making the pancakes, and is now putting them on a plate. She returns to the table, plopping down in one of the seats at the head. Her job is done.

“Do you want them to?” Asami asks, and Korra looks up at her questioningly. “Go back, I mean. Do you want things to be the same as they were with you guys?”

Korra shrugs. She’s not really sure what Asami is asking. When she left, things weren’t great between her and Mako. Asami had already left for school when she broke up, but surely she’d heard a thing or two about it over the past few years. By the time she left for school, they’d barely been on speaking terms. Of course she didn’t want to go back to that.

_Unless she means…_

“No, not really,” she’s quick to answer. “Mako and I really needed a fresh start. This is good for us.”  
  
Asami nods, her face not giving away much. She waits a beat before continuing. “Do you ever regret it? Leaving?” Her eyes aren’t meeting Korra’s, and Korra frowns.

“Do you?” she asks instead of answering, and Asami looks up at her sharply.

Before she has time to respond, Bolin runs into the room, a fresh steaming stack of pancakes on the plate in one hand, a bottle of syrup in the other.

“Order up!” Mako shouts as he walks into the room, a jug of orange juice tucked into his side. Wu follows, eyes wide as he tries not to drop the stack of glasses in his hands.

Asami talks to Wu throughout the breakfast, and Korra tries to not pay too much attention to their conversation, busying herself instead with making plans with Mako.

“Want to take a run before we get in the water?” Korra asks. They’d both been athletes in high school, and would meet up on the track every morning for a run before school. Having someone to run with was good, even if things _did_ get a little competitive between them.

 _It’ll be nice to get back to normal_ , she thinks.

“Sounds good to me,” Mako says, grinning. “Think you can still keep up?”

“Oh please, I used to do laps around you,” she laughs. Even so, she can’t help but notice that Mako has definitely been hitting the gym lately. Beating him might not be as easy as it was a few years ago. “Besides, I’ve been playing soccer the past three years. What have _you_ been doing?”  
  
“You make captain yet?” Bolin interrupts, and Korra’s cocky smile falls a little.

 _No, Kuvira is captain_ , she considers answering, but instead just shakes her head. “This year, I know it.”

After they’ve finished eating Bolin and Wu volunteer to clean up, although Bolin looks uncertain as Wu begins to pile dishes together. He grabs the stack from Wu just as it starts to topple.

“Why don’t you go wash dishes,” he suggests. “We’ll clear the table.”

“You guys go ahead,” Asami waves at Korra and Mako as they stand at the table. “I’m going to grab a book and wait for Wu and Bo.”

Korra looks at Mako, who shrugs, and they head outside.

“Sure you’re up for this?” Korra teases, watching as Mako stretches his calves against the deck railing.

Mako laughs. “Just try to keep up,” he says before starting his jog down the steps.

There must be hundreds of wooden steps leading down the bluff, Korra decides about half-way down. _I had no idea we were up this high,_ she thinks, glancing down at the remainder of the path in front of her. It’s not going to be fun getting back up.

If Mako is phased, he doesn’t show it. Korra can’t help but grin when he starts skipping steps as they near the bottom. The second her toes hit the sand she understands his enthusiasm, groaning.

“God, I’ve missed this,” she says, taking a deep breath of the ocean air. Mako smiles back at her.

“Me too,” he says, and her smile falters, realizing that he’s obviously not talking about the beach. Noticing the change in her demeanor, he starts to jog towards the shoreline. “C’mon, slow-poke.”

She takes comfort in the thick sand beneath her toes and the resistance it offers as she runs. This is what she grew up with — all those years running on a track have made her accustomed to the easy thud of solid earth below. The familiar strain in her shins makes her smile, and for once she’s able to put all other thoughts out of her mind and just focus on the task at hand: keeping up with Mako.

She trails a few feet behind him for a while, jogging easily, but as they near the end of their first mile he seems to slow.

 _Probably not used to running in the sand_ , she notes. She glances behind them, and can just make out the shape of the house and the long stairs coming down the bluff. If she squints, she thinks she can see Bolin leading the others down.

“Want to go for a dip?” she suggests, noting the way that Mako leans against his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

“Giving up already?” he asks, trying to keep the breathlessness from his voice. It doesn’t work, and Korra laughs.

“Come on, before you have a heat stroke.” She peels her shirt off, shimmying out of her shorts and tossing them aside on the beach. Mako follows suit, tearing off his shirt, which is starting to stick to him from the sweat.

Korra wastes no time running to the water, barely stopping to adjust to the cold before diving in. The water is cool against her skin, and she sighs as she floats on her back. She isn’t aware that Mako has even joined her in the water until she’s being dunked under, someone grabbing her foot from beneath the waves.

She emerges from the water spluttering, and sees Mako swimming back towards the house as quickly as he can. She laughs, spitting a mouthful of salt water before chasing after him.

Korra is disappointed to learn that Mako is much better in the water than he is in the sand, easily outpacing her as they swim back towards the house, their clothes forgotten on the shore. She takes her time instead of racing to get her revenge, enjoying the way the waves carry her a little more towards the shore every few feet.

She finally catches up to him when he slows to a stop near the house, and doesn’t miss a beat before splashing him right in the face.  
  
He barks out a surprised laugh before she grabs his shoulders, forcing him under and using him as a spring board to head towards the shore.

She’s not sure whether or not he lets her win, but she beats him to the sand. He’s not chasing her anymore as they make their way out of the water and towards where their friends have settled down.

“Hey guys!” Bolin calls as they approach. Asami looks up from her spot on a towel and waves before returning to her book, and Korra frowns.

 _Is she mad at me?_ _Maybe I shouldn’t have challenged her like that earlier._

But she doesn’t really regret it. Asami may have plenty of reason to be mad at Korra for disappearing, but she’s not really willing to forgive or forget the fact that Asami left her _first._

 _Still, you promised her that you’d just enjoy this trip together_ , she concedes. _Hope I didn’t mess that up._

“How’s the water?” Bolin asks, now that they’re no longer at a shouting distance.

“Warm,” Mako says, and Bolin pumps his fist.

“Where’s Wu?” Korra asks, not seeing the kid anywhere. Bolin points up the stairs.

“He forgot his tanning oil,” he explains, and Korra grimaces.

 _Not a trip I’d want to take twice in a day_ , she thinks, eyeing the stairs.

“Asami said she’d put it on for him if he went and got it,” he explains. Mako frowns. “I think she just wanted him to shut up so she could read her book.”

Korra looks at Asami, whose nose is indeed buried in a hardcover as she basks in the sun.

A loud whirring noise cuts through the air, and they turn to the source of the sound — two jet-skiers are out on the water, approaching the beach where they’re standing.

“I guess we’re not totally alone out here,” Korra says. Now that they’re closer, Korra can make out the forms of two women on the back of the vehicles. Mako rolls his eyes as Bolin waves to them.

 _Always the ladies man,_ Korra grins as she thinks. The women turn towards shore, and Bolin lights up when he realizes that they’re coming to say hello.

“C’mon Mako, let’s give these ladies a proper greeting,” Bolin says, not giving his brother much of a choice as he grabs his hand and drags him away.

Korra laughs, and Asami watches them as they run towards the shore for a moment before turning back to her book.

“Mind if I join you?” Korra asks, hoping she doesn’t sound too timid. Asami nods, not looking up from her book, and Korra sits on the blanket that Asami has laid out.  
  
“What are you reading?” she asks, and is relieved that she’s not annoying the other girl when she gets an answer.  
  
“Just a book for class,” Asami answers easily, flipping the cover closed. “I’m trying to get through at least one of them this trip before we head home.”

“They give you summer reading?” Korra asks, face scrunched. “Gross.”

Asami laughs, and it sounds like music to Korra’s ears. She couldn’t have messed things up _that_ badly if Asami was still finding her amusing, right?

“Come get some sun,” Asami says, patting the blanket next to her. Her eyes trail down Korra’s form, and she can’t help but flex her muscles a little under her friend’s gaze. She’s more than a bit proud when Asami smirks appreciatively. “Not that you need it.”

“Oh, don’t be jealous, Asami,” Korra laughs, settling in against the sand as she lays on her back. Asami just hums in response, and Korra closes her eyes, enjoying the warmth.

A minute of silence passes between them, and Korra’s unsure whether or not the other girl has returned to her reading. She doesn’t want to annoy her if she’s doing school work, so she decides to keep her mouth shut, but Asami doesn’t leave her wondering for long.

“I’m glad you and Mako aren’t in a rush to get back together,” Asami says quietly.

Korra’s heart drops — she doesn’t want to have this conversation, not now. She doesn’t want to hear about Asami’s feelings for Mako, even if she’s aware that they’re there. It makes her uneasy for reasons she can’t quite nail down.

 _No one wants to hear about new love when they’ve just gone through a breakup_ , she tells herself. _Especially not when you used to be in love with one half of the happy couple._

Asami waits another moment for her to respond before turning on her side, propping her head up as she looks at Korra. “I know it’s selfish, I just… want you all to myself, I guess,” Asami says.

 _Okay_ , that _was not what I was expecting_ , Korra thinks, turning to face the other girl.

Asami must take her silence for something other than surprise, because she shrugs and tries to backpedal. “I just mean you’re all I really have right now.”

“Really?” Korra asks, and is quick to continue when she sees the sad look on Asami’s face at her question. She didn’t mean to sound judgmental. “I thought you and Mako were pretty close. To be honest, that’s why I thought you were asking.”  
  
“Huh?” Asami’s confusion seems sincere, and Korra shrugs sheepishly.

“I thought you and Mako… you know— had something going on,” she admits, and Asami stares at her for a moment before breaking out into a grin.

“Oh _god,_ ” Asami says. “No, no. I wouldn’t date my best friends ex, ew.”

Korra can’t help the grin that spreads on her face at Asami referring to her as her best friend, _present tense_ , and she shrugs again. “You guys spend a lot of time together! And Bolin says he’s definitely noticed you guys getting closer. I just figured…”

“Ugh, Bolin,” Asami says, scrunching up her nose. “No, he’s just the only person who has really been there for me during all this. He… gets it.”

Korra doesn’t have to ask for Asami to elaborate. Bolin and Mako had lost their parents really early. Bolin may have been to young to remember, but Mako is well versed in losing a parent.

 _Of course he’d be who Asami turned to in all this._ She feels bad for assuming otherwise. Asami isn’t interested in dating anyone right now, her father died less than a month ago.

She doesn’t know what to do with the feeling of relief coursing through her, so she just nods instead. Asami smiles back at her, turning over once more to lie in the sun.

A few seconds later, Korra is aware of the sound of footsteps past approaching. Someone blocks her sun, and she doesn’t have to wait long before Bolin announces himself.

“Asami, Korra, there are some people I’d like you to meet!” she hears him say, and someone gasps in response.

“Korra?!”

Korra whips around at the sound of her name spoken by a familiar, eyes taking a second to adjust as she looks into the sun at the figure before her. When her vision clears, her jaw drops.

“ _Opal_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was short! Just writing a little between classes :)


	5. my friends and I, we got a lot of problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kind comments, kudos and bookmarks :) They're much appreciated.

“Korra?!”  
  
“Opal?”

Bolin blinks, stealing a look at Korra’s confused face before grinning back at the girl. “Oh, you guys know each other? That’s great!”  
  
Opal smiles, nodding, apparently not put off by Bolin’s a-little-too-loud tone. “Yeah, we actually go to the same school. We play on the same team!”

Korra forces a smile onto her face as she nods.

 _Oh my god. Kuvira’s best friend is here. Does that mean…?_ She quickly glances up and down the beach. _No, just the two of them_. _Thank god_.

She relaxes slightly. “Go Polar Bear Dogs!” Korra says, her voice still strained.

“Oh, so you guys are friends!” Bolin says, growing more excited by the minute. “That means you should _definitely_ come hang out with us! We have this great house all the way up there,” he says, gesturing wildly with his hand towards the bluff. “We can have a party!”

Opal laughs, unsure whether to find Bolin’s enthusiasm overwhelming or endearing. “We’re actually just about a mile down the beach,” she says, cocking her head behind her. “ My family owns a house there, we come down every summer.”

“So we’ll definitely be seeing you around,” Bolin announces.

Asami stands up, a friendly smile on her face. “How long will you guys be out? We’d love to have some company.”

“We’ll be here for the next few weeks. We usually play it by ear,” Opal shrugs.

Mako whistles low under his breath, and Bolin treats him to an elbow in the rib. “Ow— uh, I mean, you guys should totally come by. We’ll have a barbecue.”  
  
“That sounds great,” Opal says, nodding. “We’ll bring the drinks.”  
  
“That’s my kind of girl,” Bolin comments to Korra, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Opal clears her throat, and Bolin turns pink as he realizes he’s spoken a little too loudly.

 _“_ Opal, honey?” the other woman calls from the jet-ski. Korra can see now that she’s up-close that this woman is older than her classmate, though she can’t really tell by how much. “Your aunt just called, they picked up lunch.”

“Okay!” Opal calls back over her shoulder. “That’s my mom,” she explains when she turns back.

“She can come to the barbecue too,” Bolin announces, trying to make-up for embarrassing himself just a few moments ago.

Opal smiles at him, which he returns dopily. “Sounds excellent,” she says. “We’ll be in touch!”

She gives a final wave to the group before turning around and making her way back to her mother.

Korra watches her go for a second, an uneasy feeling rising in her chest.

 _Opal wouldn’t tell them about me and Kuvira, right_ ? _I mean, the whole reason we broke up was me not being out, she must know that_. Then again, she’s not really sure how much Kuvira even tells her friends. The girl is more heavily guarded than Fort Knox.

Still, the thought makes her uneasy. Korra takes a deep breath before jogging after the other girl.

 _“_ Opal! Hey, wait, can I talk to you for a second?”

Opal has only made it about halfway back to the shore. She stops and smiles when she sees that it’s Korra that’s called after her. “Sure Korra, what’s up? “

She casts a glance behind her to make sure the other’s aren’t listening. She doesn’t have much time, so she decides to just be blunt.

_Subtly was never my specialty._

“I just… I was wondering if you could do me a favor and not mention Kuvira to my friends,” she says, her voice hushed. Opal’s brow furrows, but she tilts her head, waiting for Korra to continue. “I just haven’t told any of them about her. Or… about me,” she explains.

A look of understanding dawns on Opal’s face, and she nods. “I would never _out_ you Korra,” she says, and even though its hushed Korra can’t help but glance around her to make sure everyone else is out of earshot.

When she sees that her friends are otherwise occupied, she relaxes a little. “Thanks,” she says, offering Opal a tight smile.

Opal reaches forward, her hand landing on Korra’s arm gently. “Are you… y’know, doing okay?”

Korra thinks of her first week at college. She’d been visibly defeated at practice, barely sleeping during orientation, and Opal had been one of the few people to notice anything was wrong with her. She never really revealed much to the girl, just that her aunt had died and she was homesick.

It was the closest she could get to describing the feeling of longing she felt for her friends. But Asami had left without warning mid-summer; when Katara died, Korra didn’t return Asami’s calls. She had broken up with Mako, and it would take a long time before they would ever be ready to be friends again. And Bolin was just a kid, to young to understand the complicated nature of the relationship between his friend and his brother.

She had been homesick for a home that didn’t exist anymore.

“Yeah, I’m doing just great,” Korra replies.

Opal frowns, and she remembers the girl is actually concerned for her wellbeing.

_Whoops._

“No really,” she continues seriously. “I’m… recovering.” 

Opal smiles. “Well, you picked quite the place to do it. And your friends seem really nice!”

“Yeah, they’re all right,” Korra laughs.

“I’d love to get to know them,” Opal says. “We should get together sometime this week. You still have my number?”

Korra nods. She’d been too in denial to delete Kuvira or any of her friends from her address book yet.

Opal breaks out into a grin. “Great. Now I have to get back before my mom kills me, and then my aunt kills us both. But I’ll talk to you soon!” With that she spins on her heel, kicking up sand as she jogs back to her mother.

Korra gives a wave before turning around, making her way back to Asami’s blanket. She settles in next to Asami, whose nose was buried back in her book.

She waits until Korra is laying next to her to speak. “What was that about?” she asks, brow furrowed as her eyes continue scanning the page.

“Oh, uh — I just wanted to get her phone number, so we can have that party we were talking about.”

“Oh.” A slight frown. “You don’t have your phone on you.”

Korra fidgets. “I have a good memory.”

Asami snorts. “Since when?” she asks. Korra shifts uncomfortably again, but Asami is apparently not that concerned, already moving on. “When do you want to have them over?”

“I guess sometime this week?” Korra answers, not actually having given it much thought. Even though Opal said she wouldn’t say anything, limiting exposure was still probably her safest bet if she didn’t want to have to explain a few things to her friends.

Asami interrupts her thoughts. “I was thinking: why not tomorrow?”

 _Well, there goes that idea_ .

“Tomorrow?” Korra tries to not sound alarmed. Se clears her throat. “I mean — why so soon? That doesn’t really give us time to get ready.”

Asami shrugs. “I mean, it’s not like it’ll be a huge party or anything. They’re just one family! You have Opal’s number, ask her how many burgers we should get. Bolin and I can go to the grocery store again tomorrow; I’m pretty sure he’s out of snacks by now anyway.”

Korra swallows nervously, unable to think of a good reason to turn her down.

 _I could just tell her that Opal never texted me back. Or that she’s busy._ She glances at Asami, the feeling of guilt already rising in her chest. _No, I couldn’t lie_ _to her._

She resolves to text Opal when she gets back up to her room.

“Okay, sounds fun,” she says, and almost thinks it’s worth it when Asami’s face lights up in a grin.

//

Korra’s skin is still radiating warmth hours later when she’s making dinner with Mako. She’d missed the feeling of a fresh tan more than she’d realized.

She chops an onion as Mako whisks together a marinade. He’s loosened up in the few days they’ve been there, and even has the radio on, muttering under his breath as he measures out a few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.

“Clap along if you know that that’s what you want to do,” he sings, monotone, and Korra can’t help but laugh. He makes a face at her, which only makes her laugh a little more, and she’s so happy things are on their way back to normal.

Asami and Bolin are playing a game of chess in the living room. Wu sits in front of the desk in the corner, head in his hands as he pushes buttons on the modem. The wifi hasn't been working since they arrived, and he seems to be losing his mind.

“Check!” Bolin cries out, and Asami shakes her head.

“Bolin, you have to be more careful,” she chides as she moves one of her pieces. “Check.”

“What— _how_?” he asks, but Asami just raises an eyebrow at him. “Right, I know, practice makes perfect. Okay,” he lowers his head, scrunching his face as he examines the board. “Let’s see…”

“What’s next after this?” Mako asks, and Korra stops watching them to look over at the cookbook. Luckily one of the things the former tenants left behind was the _Joy of Cooking,_ because Korra barely had any service, and she didn’t want to waste her data pulling up recipes. Her texts to Opal earlier had barely gone through. _Barely,_ but they made it, Korra sighing as soon as the little “delivered” sign popped up under the message.

She searches for the line they’re on before holding back a laugh. “Uh— pound the meat,” she answers, voice even, and Mako fights off a grin. “Oh grow up,” she manages to get out before bursting out into laugher herself.

“Okay, okay, I’ve got this,” he says, but Korra grabs the pounder right before he does, pulling it away and out of his reach before he has time to protest.

“Nuh-uh,” she says, shaking her head. “This is my job.”  
  
“You’ve got to be kidding,” he argues. “You always get to do all the cool stuff!”  
  
Korra grins, flexing her muscle. “Come on, have you seen these arms? This job was meant for me. Scoot over.”

With a sigh, Mako retreats. He watches as Korra tenderizes the steak, somewhat fascinated by the pattern the metal hammer left behind.

“I can’t believe we’re eating steak for dinner,” he says, looking over to where Wu is flipping through a manual. “I was expecting hot dogs and hamburgers every night. I never stop being surprised at how much _money_ this kid has to burn.”

Korra looks up to make sure Wu can’t hear them. “Yeah. He’s not so bad though, once you get past the fake rich boy attitude.”

Mako takes a seat at the island, back turned to the rest of the room. “It’s just… growing up, like we did, it’s hard not to resent him.”

“I know,” Korra says, smiling sympathetically. “But it’s not his fault. And you have to admit, the kid seems like he has enough problems even with all this money.”

“Guess so,” Mako shrugs, and Korra’s not sure if she’s convinced him or not.

“Let’s get these babies on the grill,” she says, flashing him a grin. She has a month to help Mako improve his relationship with his young boss. Right now, she had a much bigger priority: steak.

//

“Twelve burgers? Are you sure?” Asami asks, frowning.

“Well, unless it was a typo,” Korra says, glancing at the message again. Opal had texted her back late last night saying that her family would love to join them today, and to please make twelve burgers for her family.

“I mean, maybe she means all together?” Asami suggests.

“No, it’s pretty clear,” Korra frowns. “I mean, I’ve heard her mention having a big family but _jeez_.”

“I know. Almost makes you appreciate being an only child,” Asami says, shrugging. She begins to draw a small doodle on the side of the shopping list absentmindedly. “Though I wouldn’t mind having some family right now.”

Korra nudges her shoulder. “That’s what we’re here for.”

Asami smiles, stealing a quick glance at Korra before returning to her doodle. “What’s taking Bolin so long?” she asks under her breath. Apparently it isn’t quiet enough, because Bolin shouts “coming!” from the other room not a second later.

He’s pulling a shirt over his head as he enters the kitchen. His hair is freshly washed, and Korra sees him as younger than he is for a few seconds before reality sets in, his jaw squares out and his cheeks lose their baby fat.

“Ready,” he says, flashing them an easy smile.

//

Korra goes down to the beach while Asami and Bolin go grocery shopping. She brings one of the boogie boards that Mako found in the shed and floats on the water, wishing she had known she was going to be taking a trip like this — she would have brought her surfboard.

Instead, she settles for the shorter board with pink and purple flowers printed on the top.

 _Not exactly my style, but it’ll do_ .

She floats easily on the board, switching from lying on her front to her back several times in the hot sun. Occasionally she paddles out and back in, trying to catch a few waves, but this isn’t the ocean, and there isn’t much to work with.

Mako comes down for a swim at some point, and when Korra asks what time it is she’s shocked to discover it’s well past noon.

She decides to call it a day, toweling herself dry before heading up the steep staircase to the house. She has to stop few times along the way, and decides that she needs to get up early and go for a jog or something tomorrow because she can’t be this out of shape when she goes back to school.

Opal had texted earlier to let her know that they would be coming over around four — just a little under three hours away. Korra decides to shower, taking a long hot rinse for the first time in a while.

Asami and Bolin get back while she’s rinsing off. She’s not sure what took them so long —apparently shopping with Bolin can be quite a chore.

Asami looks exhausted. “You okay, ‘Sami?” Korra asks when the girl finally sits after bringing in the groceries.

She nods, but the slump in her shoulders says otherwise. “Just.. tired, today.” Korra gives her a sympathetic smile, but doesn’t know what else to say. Instead, she grabs a few avocados from the brown bag and holds them up to show Asami.

“What do you say I make my famous guacamole for the party later?” she asks, eyebrows raised hopefully.

Asami’s smile is genuine enough to bring some light back into her face. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

While the guac chills in the fridge, Korra helps Mako marinate the burgers in a sauce he learned while working at the local steakhouse. Ever since she first tried it in ninth grade, Korra has refused to eat a burger without it… unless she’s having a _serious_ craving (then a Quarter Pounder will do just fine).

It’s now about a half hour until they’re supposed to be arriving, and Korra is pacing nervously around the kitchen. Mako is watching her, amused.

“Go relax,” he tells her, pointing to the cooler full of beer Bolin had returned with earlier.

She pops open a bottle, hoping to calm her nerves, and goes to wait on the deck. It’s probably not her best idea.

She’s on her second by the time the Beifong’s arrive, and after the introductions are over she realizes she’s polished off the second half.

There’s Opal’s mom, Suyin — _call me Su —_ and her husband, Bataar. Then there’s Opal’s siblings, twins Wei and Wing (confusing), Haun, who only has hair on one side of his head, and Bataar, who Korra had completely forgotten about. On some level she knew that the goalkeeper and the water boy were related, but she honestly paid him so little attention that it had slipped her mind.

Then there was Opal’s aunt. Lin, who shook Korra’s hand with a firm handshake that made Korra straighten her back and try to stand taller than she actually is. The woman took her in slowly, sizing her up, before muttering a “nice to meet you,” and stepping back.

That just left Opal herself, who was quick to usher everyone out into the kitchen for cocktails as soon as introductions were finished.

Korra couldn’t say no when Opal passed her a daiquiri. The fresh strawberry makes it delicious, and she has to slow herself down so she doesn’t get brain freeze. She realizes a little too late that she should have been drinking it slowly for other reasons as well, such as the buzz that was quick to settle over her senses, making her laugh a little too loudly at Asami’s story to Opal about the group project from hell in one of her engineering classes this past semester.

Korra volunteers to follow Mako out to the grill, needing a moment to get her thoughts together before she says something embarrassing. He’s happy to entertain her, always finding it entertaining the way her mouth just seems to start running and is nearly impossible to stop whenever she has something to drink.

“I’m so glad you guys let me come,” she says after a minute of silence. Mako looks up, surprised by her bluntness, but smiles after a second.

“Me too,” he says. “It’s good to see you and the others get comfortable with each other again. Asami… she really needed a friend.”

“I know,” Korra says. She tries to stop the tightness in her throat, but it squeeze at her as she tries to speak anyway. “I really wish I was there for her.”

Mako’s hand is on her shoulder. “You’re here now. I’ve barely been able to get anything out of her. Maybe you’ll have more luck.”

Korra frowns. “Maybe,” she says, but the limited terms their friendship is on makes her wary. Asami says she doesn’t want to lose them both at once, but she still doesn’t trust Korra enough to let her in that fast, does she? Korra gets lost in thought.

Mako flips the last of the burgers onto a glass dish after a few more minutes silence. “Let’s get some food in you,” he teases. She sticks out her tongue, breaking out of her sad slump into a small giggle, and Mako is smiling as he shakes his head and walks away, announcing the food as he walks through the glass doors.

The mosquitos are out in full force near dusk, so they decide to eat inside. Korra doesn’t say much during dinner, just listens as Asami talks engineering with Su, who, as it turns out, studied it in college before becoming a political science major her junior year.

She gathers that Wing and Wei hope to follow in their mother’s footsteps, each wanting to become a politician one day. They had enough charisma, that was for sure. Unlike Haun, who’s awkward slouching was off-putting to everyone but Bolin, who eagerly tries to make conversation with him over dinner anyway. Wu seems unusually interested in everything the twins have to say.

Bataar turns his nose up at something Asami says, and she watches as the girl crosses her arms, bristling at Bataar next to her.

Opal seems uneasy, quickly moving to change the subject from whatever it was Korra had just missed. “Sorry, Asami,” she mutters after the conversation has moved to a different part of the table, and Bataar Jr. is talking to his father. “My brother has some… radical ideas, sometimes.”

Asami offers her a reassuring smile, and Korra doesn’t want to seem nosy or make Opal any more uncomfortable, so she decides to let it drop.

After dinner, almost everyone goes to sit outside. Opal hangs back, and Korra figures she might as well check in on the girl. The more she gets to know her, the more she likes her. She finds it weird, considering they had been in each other’s lives for three years now, and had never really gotten to know each other past team mates.

As she’s heading into the living room, she looks at the cooler sitting on the counter and figures she has a little food in her now so _why not,_ right?

Not a second after she pops open her bottle is she struck with the sudden _very urgent_ need to visit the bathroom, having drank a little more than usual that night. She rushes down the hall, and its all a little blurry until she finds herself on the toilet. She giggles at her expression in the mirror before leaving, unsure whether she finds her visage actually amusing or just downright sad

Her eyes tear up for a second before she blinks, realizing what she’s doing.

 _No,_ she insists, _I will not be the weepy drunk._ She blinks her eyes rapidly several times before heading out the door.

She finds Opal still in the living room, admiring a landscape painting on the wall featuring the beach below.

“Thanks for inviting us over, Korra,” Opal says when she notices the other girl standing there. “The burgers were delicious.”  
  
“That was all on Mako,” Korra says, waving off the compliment. “I’m glad you could come. It’s good to know I still know someone back at school. I’ve pretty much lost all my friends, at this point.” She winces internally, cursing the loose tongue she seems to develop whenever she’s tipsy.

Opal frowns. “That’s not right,” she says. She seems like she wants to say something more, but Korra doesn’t let her.

“It’s no one’s fault,” Korra admits. _But my own._

“Opal?” A voice calls as the glass door slides open. “Haun and I wanted to know when we can leave this — oh,” Bataar stops short, spotting Korra. “Didn’t see you there.”

Korra perks up, hoping she seems at least slightly friendly. She finds herself losing her balance as she does so, so she leans against the wall.

“Oh, hi Bataar. You know I actually forgot you and Opal are related,” she says, and it’s not her _best_ icebreaker but it’s not _that_ bad. It definitely didn’t earn the unamused frown that spreads on Bataar’s face.

“It’s Korra, right?” he asks, sounding about as uninterested as can be, and it’s Korra’s turn to resist rolling her eyes. Bataar practically worshiped the ground Kuvira walked on the three years they’d known him, and she has a hard time believing he has no idea who she is. At the very least, Kuvira and Korra are both stars on the same soccer team, and Bataar is at every game, every after party.

“Right,” she confirms, forcing a smile despite the burning annoyance in her chest, probably fueled by the beer, which she takes a long swig of before speaking again. “Hey, I have a question. During the summer, do you practice being a water boy? Is there like a summer camp?”

Bataar looks confused for a second before his face morphs into a scowl. “Make fun all you want, Korra. We’ll see how cold your water bottle is next season.”

“As if you’d mess with me,” Korra boasts. She glances at her drink, trying to remember if this was her third or her fourth. She glares back at Bataar, and finds him making a similar face at her.

“Whoa, guys, relax,” Opal cuts in, pressing her hand to her brother’s shoulder gently.

Bataar opens his mouth, face turning slightly pink, when a cheerful strumming noise sings from his pocket.

A dreamy look comes over his face. “Hold on, I’ve got to take this.” He swipes to answer the call, turning his back on the group. “Hello, sugar plum,” he coos into the phone, and Opal sticks out her tongue in disgust.

“ _Bataar_ has a girlfriend?” Korra asks. Opal shrugs, and it’s not _really_ any of her business but the evasion still makes her feel uneasy.

“Ugh. I’m getting out of here,” Korra says, glancing at Bataar’s retreating figure.

Opal nods in understanding, looking nervously at her brother. “Okay. I’ll try to talk to him. Maybe you could try _not_ insulting him next time?”

Korra sighs. “Sorry. He just always rubbed me the wrong way. I know he’s your brother, but…”

“He’s changed, lately,” Opal admits, her voice quiet. “It’s almost as if he’s a different person than the guy I’ve known my whole life.”

Korra shrugs. “College has that affect on some people, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Opal nods. She looks back to Bataar, who sounds like he’s about to get off his call. “All right, why don’t you go see what your friends are up to?”

Korra nods before making her way out the door. She bypasses Su and Lin on her way, and Su informs her she thought she saw Asami and Mako talking about a fire a little while ago.

It’s dark on the deck, except at the end where the fire pit is glowing, Mako, Bolin, Wu and the twins sitting around it. Korra frowns when she doesn’t see a familiar head of long black hair. She’d even have settled to see it tucked into Mako’s side, especially now that Asami had confirmed there was nothing going on between the two of them.

She takes a few steps forward before something catches the corner of her eye and she jumps, her hand clamping over her mouth to make sure she doesn’t scream. Someone is sitting on the stairs, and as her eyes adjust she is able to make out who it is.

She moves slowly forward, a bad feeling stirring in her chest at the sight of her friend, head in her hands. “Asami?” she calls out gently, hoping not to scare her friend.

If she’s startled, she doesn’t show it, not even flinching at the intruding voice. The only indication that she’s noticed Korra’s presence at all is the rise and fall of her shoulders, the soft sigh that puffs out of her lips.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. I can go —“ Korra begins to offer, but then Asami turns her head and Korra can see the tears in her eyes, and before she even thinks about it she’s moving forward, sitting next to her friend. Asami reaches out immediately, pulling Korra to her.

Just over the girl’s shoulder she can see Asami’s phone, screen bright in the darkness. She can hear the boys muffled conversation several feet away, but can no longer see them from where they’re sitting. She’s grateful, because it means they can not see the two of them together, and she’s pretty sure that the wet warmth on her shoulder means her friend is now crying.

Asami doesn’t sob or make much noise at all really, just lays her head against Korra’s shoulder and rests there for a few minutes. Korra doesn’t mind, her arm wrapped firmly around her friend, her face pressed into her hair.

 _She smells like fresh laundry and lavender,_ she thinks, nuzzling into Asami’s hair further. Asami’s fists clench into Korra’s shirt for a moment before she lets go, pulling away.

“He called me, two days before he died,” she explains, hand reaching for the phone left on the porch. She presses the screen, eyes welling up when she reads the words:

 **Dad**                                       6/23/15 >

                                                                                 mobile

“I missed it.”

Her thumb hovers over the arrow, wanting to hear her father’s voice once more. It won’t make her feel any better, and she doesn’t want to seem _too_ pathetic in front of Korra, so instead her thumb slides to the off button, pressing down with a satisfying _click_ as the screen goes black.

“You couldn’t have known,” Korra begins, but Asami laughs, shaking her head.

“I knew,” she says, crossing her arms. “They told me. I didn’t believe them.”

“He was a fighter,” Korra insists. “You knew that.”

She sniffs, nodding. “He sounded so healthy. So _alive._ I really thought…” her voice breaks, and Korra shifts so she’s directly next to Asami, their shoulders pressed together. “I convinced myself he would live. I just couldn’t accept it and now he’s gone and I don’t know what to do.”

“Everyone struggles to accept that it’s happening, Asami,” Korra says, trying to reassure her friend. Asami drops her eyes from Korra, worrying her lip between her teeth.

“I didn’t say goodbye,” she says after a second, and Korra understands suddenly why Asami is having such a hard time grieving. She had gone through so much counseling when she was younger when her mother died, she had become an expert on how to grieve healthily.

Not that Korra expected her to take her father’s death _easily_ , but there was a certain level of poise and maturity that Asami handled most things in her life with. It was strange to see her unsure and vulnerable, and the way her lip begins to quiver after she admits what she’s done (or hasn’t done, rather) makes Korra feel sick.

“You still can,” she offers, but Asami shakes her head.

“It’s not the same. He can’t say it back.” She pulls her knees to her chest, and her hand reaches for Korra’s where its rests on the porch, pulling it so it’s in her lap.

“I know how that feels,” Korra comments solemnly. Asami squeezes her hand, and she lets out a deep breath. “It just… takes time.”

“Time heals all wounds,” Asami says, tone just a little too wistful. Korra shoots her a look and Asami returns it, and a second later the smallest grin is pulling at Asami’s lips. Korra let’s out a chuckle, and Asami wipes the tears off her cheeks with the sleeve of her hoodie.

“Sorry. I’m the definition of a party pooper right now. I guess I’m the weepy drunk,” Asami says, glancing towards where the boys are now drunkenly singing some unrecognizable song.

“It sounds to me like they’re still having fun,” Korra says, shrugging. Asami stares at her, lips pressed together, and Korra flashes her a smile. “I’m just glad to be with you again,” she admits, and she swipes her thumb over the back of Asami’s hand. Green eyes glance down to where their fingers intertwine, and Korra watches Asami as she swallows thickly.

Before she has time to try to figure out what the look on Asami’s face means, a voice from behind make her jump a foot away from her friend, their hands dropping in the process.

“There you guys are!” Bolin shouts, a glass of frozen slushy in his hand. Korra wonders just what is in it when he misses the table as he moves to lean against it, stumbling before regaining his balance against the chair. “We were wondering where you’d been. Come join the party!”

Asami glances at Korra, who shrugs. “I think I’m gonna have to get us some drinks first,” Korra says, glancing at the empty cup in Asami’s hand.

Asami just laughs, handing her glass over. “Fine, but make Bolin mix it. His come out _way_ better.”

“ _Hey!”_ Korra shouts. “I like my drinks just fine, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, straight from the bottle,” Bolin chimes in. “I’ve got you Asami.”

He grabs Korra’s arm, and she barely has time to flash Asami a smile before she’s being tugged into the kitchen.

“Someone’s had a few,” she comments. Bolin grins dopily at her.

“What can I say, I’m the master mixer,” he says, throwing his arms wide in an exaggerated stance. He clangs into the pot rack over the sink, hissing as he pulls his hand away. “Opal’s been loving my pina coladas!”

“Ooh, I’ll take one of those please,” Korra says, hopping up on the counter next to where Bolin has pulled out a blender.

“Coming right up!” he sings. “Hey, what do you think of Opal? Pretty cute, huh?”

Korra rolls her eyes. “Bolin, you have a new crush every other week.”

“That’s not true,” he argues. He pauses for a second, frowning. “Okay, yeah, maybe it is, but she’s _different._ She’s so nice, and funny, and her eyes are the most gorgeous shade of green and her body in that swim suit was _bangin—_ uh, I —“ Bolin suddenly goes pale, and Korra turns around to see Opal’s aunt, Lin, standing in the doorway.

“I was just coming to see what all the ruckus was,” Lin says, face stoic. Bolin nods, his eyes wide. It takes Korra a moment to realize that Bolin isn’t going to say anything.

“Uh— sorry, I banged into some of the pots on the way in here. A few too many to drink,” she says, holding up her empty beer bottle.

Lin grunts, face not giving away any emotion as she turns to leave. It takes a few seconds after she disappears for Bolin’s shoulders to relax, giving way to a large sigh as his face begins to regain some color.

“Holy shit, she’s scary,” he whispers, watching the doorway she’d gone through carefully.

“Yeah,” Korra says, not much bothered by the other woman’s appearance. She’d been friendly enough at dinner, after all. It just seemed like she was a little on edge. _I wonder if she was in the military_ , she thinks, remembering the carefully poised way the woman held herself.

“All right, just got to blend these up and we’re good to go,” he says. He presses down the top on the blender and mashes one of the buttons. The machine whirs to life, the crunching noise causing Korra to wince from her perch on the counter.

He pours the slush into two tall glasses, and looks at them with a hand on his chin for a moment before grabbing a bag from the cabinet and pulling two, small, paper umbrellas from inside.

“How could I forget?” he asks, grinning as he spins the umbrella around before putting it in Korra’s drink.

“Perfect.”


	6. sometimes you've got to bleed to know that you're alive and have a soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I meant to publish this as a sort of "part two" to last chapter the next day but never got around to putting the finishing touches until this afternoon. It's a little short because of that -- I think I'll combine this and the last chapter at some point in the future, so if you ever notice that we're down a chapter, that's why ;)
> 
> Thanks again for the all the kind comments, kudos and bookmarks!

She finds Asami back at the fire pit. Wing — or is it Wei? — has given her his seat.

“Korra!” she exclaims when Korra walks over to hand her the drink Bolin made, her smile wide. She returns for a moment, before faltering at Asami’s next sentence. “Wei here was just telling me about how he and his brother invented a whole _game!”_

 _“_ Oh,” she says, suddenly uncomfortable with how close Wei is standing behind Asami. Her eyes dart between the two before settling on Asami. “Like, a board game? That’s… neat.”

 _Lame_ , she corrects in her head, but she doesn’t want to be mean. After all, she has no claim on Asami, and the twin hadn’t done anything wrong. _I’m sure his game is just fine._

It’s just… if Asami could not want Korra to be dating Mako because she wants all her time to herself, that means Korra can want to have Asami all to herself too, right? Jealousy can be healthy in the right circumstance, right?

Besides, she’s not _really_ jealous _—_ not that there’s anything to _be_ jealous of, anyway. The twins are younger than Opal, Bolin’s age probably and Asami has never been a cradle robber. _If there’s anything there, it’s probably one-sided,_ she reasons.

She realizes suddenly that she’s feeling jealous of a boy for simply _standing_ near her friend, and decides that it’s probably just the alcohol fueling something nasty inside of her.

Asami shakes her head, smile stretching a little too wide, making her look goofy. “No no, like a _real_ game. Like football or… golf!”

 _“_ It’s called power disk,” Wing chimes in from his seat next to Bolin. “We’d love to show it to you guys sometime. Maybe you could come visit our place tomorrow?”

“I’d _love_ that,” Asami says.

Korra forces herself to nod and smile. "Sounds fun," she says.

Bolin starts asking the boys about other games they could play when they visit tomorrow— something called Can Jam? — and Korra puts her free hand in her pocket, standing awkwardly at the side of the fire pit.

“Korra,” Asami calls her, and it’s obvious from the way she sloppily sing-songs her friend’s name that she’s feeling the effects of whatever it is she’s been drinking. Korra looks at Asami, brow furrowed. _I don’t remember Asami being a lightweight,_ she thinks. _I guess I don’t know how much she’s had to drink_. She’d had an empty glass when Korra found her on the stairs, and the drink Bolin had fixed for her just a few minutes before is already half gone.

“Come here,” Asami says, breaking her out of her thoughts. Her arm is outstretched towards her and Korra grabs at her fingers, but when Asami pulls her it's harder than she’s anticipating and she loses her balance, falling squarely in Asami’s lap. She’s about to get up and apologize when Asami’s hands wrap around her waist, and she realizes that maybe this was Asami’s plan to begin with.

The other girl is much taller than her, so her chin rests easily on Korra’s shoulder. “Thank you for cheering me up before,” she says so only Korra can hear.

Korra bites her lip, nodding. She doesn’t trust her voice right now. She leans into Asami’s embrace, listening to the conversation as it travels around the circle in front of her.

The fire is warm against her legs, and she considers moving but decides against it when Asami begins to trail her fingers up and down her arm.

“So Mako, what do you do?” Opal asks.

“Me? I uh—“ he glances at Wu, who is looking down at his hands. “I’m a private security guard,” he explains simply.

Wu looks up and offers him a small smile. _I guess admitting that the people vacationing with you are getting paid to do so isn’t exactly the image a kid wants._

Wei lights up. “That’s _awesome,”_ he says, and Mako smirks.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool I guess,” he says. “This one time…”

They go on like that for a while, Mako telling all his work stories — which, if you asked Korra, sound _highly_ embellished, but everyone else seems pretty into them, so whatever.

“So I say, ‘looks like you’re having some car trouble’ —” Mako says.

“— Good thing I showed up,” Bolin chimes in as Mako repeats the last line of his story. Mako shoots a glare at him, and Bolin just shrugs with a good-natured smile.

“There’s no way you came up with all those lines on the spot,” Opal laughs.

Mako just shrugs. “Well, maybe I prepared just a _few_ one-liners beforehand…” he trails off, and the group laughs.

A voice calls out from inside as their laughter dies down. “Opal, boys?” Opal’s mom, Su, hovers in the doorway, not coming all the way out onto the deck. "Your father, aunt and I are going to bring Bataar Jr. and Haun home. They woke up early and are feeling pretty tired.”

“Okay,” Opal replies. Korra frowns. If their company is leaving, she’ll probably have to get up from her seat on Asami’s lap. She tries to ignore the disappointment filling her chest, shifting to stand to leave, but Opal glances at her brothers before shouting, “we’ll walk home in a little bit!”

"I could drive you," Bolin offers. “We’ve got a pretty cool van.” Opal smiles warmly at him. Mako, seeing the way his brother flushes pink at the girl next to him, grins.

“Well forget about _my_ lame security gig _,”_ he says, slapping his little brother on the back. “My brother here is the one going places.”

Bolin shakes his head at his brother, but it’s too late — Opal is already looking at him curiously.

“Well, right now I’m just bartending,” he explains. "I’m saving up money to go to school,” he says, turning to Opal.

Opal smiles encouragingly. “That’s cool. Where do you want to go?”

Korra tunes out, taking a long sip of her drink and _god_ , she has to remember later to compliment Bolin on his skills. The kid could mix a drink.

 _If school doesn’t work out_ , she thinks, but that’s not really a possibility. Bolin, while a bit of an airhead, has always been very determined. Nothing could stop him once he set his mind to something.

 _A go-getter,_ she remembers Hiroshi saying.

 _Hiroshi._ The thought of the old man makes her frown. She never liked him much, but Asami adored him, and he certainly didn’t deserve to go out the way he did. It was fast, too fast, and now her poor friend is left picking up the pieces, not just of herself but of the company he left behind.

 _That’s a lot of stress for someone who isn’t even done with college yet,_ she thinks. _Maybe I was too hard on her when I told her that quitting wasn’t an option._ It certainly hadn’t gone over well with Asami, after all.

 _Maybe that’s what this whole trip is about_ , she considers. _Maybe Asami is looking for a way to escape._

She runs her hand through the girl’s hair, and Asami peeks up at her from below, flashing her a small smile before turning her attention back to the conversation. Wu is now bragging to Wei and Wing about his prowess in _tennis_ of all things, and one of the boys, Korra still can't tell which, says they have a badminton net set up at their house and if Wu comes with tomorrow they can play.

Wu pales. "Well their not really the _same,"_ he says, not that Korra's really listening. She's too focused on the girl beneath her. Asami’s skin glows in the light from the fire, and Korra finds herself unable to tear her eyes away.

There’s so much in her face that she’s never took the time to notice. The slope of her nose, the fullness of her lips, the way her green eyes have flecks of gold and brown in them, completely different from — well, the _other_ pair of green eyes Korra was used to staring into.

 _Staring_ , she thinks. _That’s what you’re doing, you creep._

Asami’s face lights up with a smile at something one of the boys just said, and Korra’s stomach flutters, then drops when she realizes just what that means.

 _Fuck,_ she thinks, swallowing loudly. _I’m attracted to my best friend._

The admission comes so easily that it makes her almost feel sick. _Of course_ she’s attracted to Asami — how had she not seen it before? Maybe she had and she ignored it, because this is not something she can deal with. This is _not_ a problem she needs right now. She's trying to get to know Asami again as a _friend_ , after all. And besides, she's pretty sure Asami could never feel the same way about her.

Though the two had never discussed it, Asami idolized her father. Of course she’d agree with him about the “sin” that was homosexuality. _Well, bisexuality,_ _in my case,_ she corrects, but she’s not sure it’d make a difference to Hiroshi, nor to Asami, who she’s currently practically melting into.

Only now that she admits it to herself does she realize how long she’s been aware of it. At first she had just thought it had something to do with her missing Kuvira but _no_ , that wasn’t entirely true. If she’s honest, she’s noticed her attraction to the girl in the past. There have been times when Asami has left her breathless, where she’s woken up in the middle of a sleep-over and been unable to fall back asleep with her heart racing, knowing that Asami had cuddled so close next to her in her sleep.

So _yeah,_ it may have even started before she left for college and she just hadn't understood it yet, though that’s not a possibility Korra is really willing to entertain, because that is way too serious of a crush for her to have on her _best fucking friend._

She’s startled out of her train of thought by her eyes suddenly locking with Asami’s as the girl turns to face her. Korra turns red knowing Asami just caught her staring, and hopes that she can just blame it on the warmth from the fire.

Asami's response is not what Korra expects. She finds her hand and grabs at it, fingers interlacing with Korra's in her lap.

Korra spends the next few minutes with a dopey smile on her face, trying to convince herself the buzz running through her body was just from the alcohol, and not from the soft hand currently folded into her own.

After a while, Opal goes inside and comes back out with a beer for everyone. Korra's surprised when Asami accepts and barely crinkles her nose at her first sip, unlike Wu, who spits it straight out.

“Don’t you have anything that tastes… good?” he asks, worrying his lip. “Like one of those lemonades or something?”

“Wine coolers are for weaklings,” Korra says, taking a hardy sip of her beer.

Wei barks out a laugh. “God, that sounds just like something Kuvira would say. She's rubbing off on you at that school, huh?” Wing asks.

Korra freezes. “Yeah,” she chokes out, her throat suddenly numb. She pulls her hand out of Asami’s, suddenly feeling wrong somehow for having it there and instead wrapping her arms around herself as she balances on the girl’s lap. _I forgot Opal and Kuvira were family friends,_ she thinks. _Of course the twins know her._

Opal laughs, then shoots Korra a nervous look. Everyone else chuckles, although clearly slightly confused.

"Who's Kuvira again?" Bolin asks, scratching his head. Asami looks to her and Korra's mouth falls open but nothing comes out, and thankfully Opal swoops in to save her.

"Our team captain," Opal fills in. Bolin nods, but the energy has all suddenly left Korra.

She barely says another word until Wei stands up fifteen minutes later.

"As fun as this has been, I think it's about time we call it a night," he says.

Bolin moves to stand too, but Opal's hand on his shoulder holds him down. "Thanks for the offer, but you shouldn't be driving and we’re really only a short walk away," she says.

He doesn't put up an argument, but blushes when Opal bends down to hug him.

They decide to head down the steps to the beach, since their house sits on stilts on the shore and not up the bluffs.

Korra stands to hug Opal before she leaves.

“Shoot me a text later, if you need anything,” Opal says, squeezing Korra’s shoulder’s as she hugs her. Korra nods, not really registering the offer. She’s exhausted, all of the sudden, and the thought of talking to _anyone_ right now seems really unappealing.

After Opal and the boys disappear down the bluff, Bolin yawns his arms wide. “Dunno about you guys, but I’m ready for a night-cap,” he says. The group begins to follow him into the house, but Korra lingers behind.

"I'll put this out and head in in a few," she says to no one in particular, gesturing towards the fire.

She stands in front of the fireplace for a few minutes, enjoying the way the heat burns against her skin. She pushes at the logs apart with a metal rod, watching as the sparks fly into the air. After a minute the flames dull, and she drops the rod with a sigh.

 _You can’t just let it ruin your day whenever her_ name _is mentioned,_ Korra chides herself, but it doesn’t change the slump in her shoulders as she stirs the remaining coals.

When they finally extinguish, she looks to the house and glances inside where she can see her friends gathered in the kitchen through the window. They're laughing, and somehow she knows that she won't be able to fake it in there with them.

Instead, she spots a hammock tucked against the shed and slinks over to it, practically collapsing in it when she gets there.

Her back hits the soft rope, cradling her as she spreads out. It's oddly quiet out here now that the others have left and the fire has gone down; she only hears the sound of the ocean waves below and the remains of the embers crackling in the pit as she settles against the rope.

Her phone buzzes, and her heart drops. Her hands fumble as she goes to get it from her pocket, quickly bringing it to her face before groaning.

_Mom: Hope you had a good day today sweetie! Call me in the morning <3_

Korra hits the home button, navigating away without answering. She doesn't have read receipts on; her mom can wait until morning.

She goes to put her phone away, but falters. _I haven’t had time to herself to check up on things back at school,_ she thinks, hovering over the Facebook app.

 _Who're you kidding? s_ he asks herself. _You want to know what she's doing._

She clicks off her phone, staring at the blank screen for just a moment before groaning and turning it back on, quickly typing in her passcode.

 _You've managed to hold off this long. Don't break,_ she urges herself, but as soon as she sees the Instagram icon, she crumbles. It's not like she's stalking her ex's _Facebook._ No, that would be creepy. She's just scrolling through her Instagram feed, and if she _happens_ to see something from Kuvira (who doesn't even update her Instagram that often anyway) then so be it, right?

She gets through a few posts, until she finds a #ThrowbackThursday photo from Opal earlier that evening and it's from their championship game last year. In it, Kuvira has her hand on Opal's shoulder. Korra spots herself behind Kuvira's head, sitting on the bench, and she swallows thickly at the sight of them in the same picture.

She suddenly loses interest in seeing anything from Kuvira's life, on "accident" or otherwise.

She tucks her phone into her pocket and lets out a long breath that she didn't realize she was holding.

"I thought it was you out here," a soft voice says from behind her. "Mind if I join you?"

Korra turns. Asami stands there, face dimly lit by the moonlight.

"Not at all," she finds herself saying before she really even considers it. She scoots over on the hammock, throwing off the balance. Asami catches the edge of the hammock, steadying it, and Korra laughs, still tipsy from earlier.

Asami turns to sit, but with Korra's weight the hammock is just a little too high and she almost topples onto Korra. She catches herself on the edge at the last second, jerking Korra forward, and they clunk heads awkwardly in the middle.

"Ow," Korra groans, rubbing her forehead.

"Sorry," Asami says, but she's laughing while she says it and Korra punches her arm gently.

Asami settles into the hammock, and Korra holds her breath, trying not to breathe in the scent of Asami's hair. That is _so_ not what she needs right now.

But when Asami turns so her face is just inches from Korra, she can't help the way all the air leaves her lungs, forcing her to breathe in sharply through her nostrils.

What she smells is not what she expects; alcohol, strong and bold. Korra’s brow furrows, her eyes searching Asami’s face.

 _It’s unlike her to get like this_ , she thinks. Not that she really has a place to say anything, because _god_ knows there were some nights after her aunt died that she would’ve liked to get drunk and forget it all, but still — this is not Asami’s usual coping mechanism, and it has Korra’s feeling uneasy. Then again, maybe a lot has changed in the past three years. Does she really still know the girl in front of her? 

Asami must notice the frown on her face, because she ducks her head so Korra can no longer see her. She presses her body against Korra’s, her arm weaving around the smaller girl’s, her chin coming to rest against her shoulder.

She places a sloppy kiss against the bare skin there, and Korra plays off the shiver that runs down her by playfully nudging Asami away. Asami blinks, her eyes glassy and wide in the moonlight.

“Sorry. You’re just really soft,” she says. Her voice sounds oddly thick to Korra’s ears, and she swallows. It does nothing to help; her throat is too dry. She turns to look up at the sky, knowing that if she stares for much longer into Asami’s eyes, nothing good would come of it.

Asami lets out a loud sigh next to her and it sounds so _sad._ Korra remembers earlier, the feeling of Asami’s tears hot against her skin, and she doesn’t want to let that happen again. Instead, she reaches into her pocket, fishing out her phone.

“Expecting a call?” Asami asks, frowning. She pulls away slightly, and Korra uses the opportunity to wrap her arm around her shoulders, pulling her in to rest her head against Korra’s chest.

“No. I just wanted to show you something,” she replies, typing in her passcode. She pulls up an app and points it at the sky. “There’s this app… It uses your location to tell you what constellations are above you right now.” 

“Wow,” Asami says, her eyes growing wide as the sky as the sky comes to life before them. Korra uses the arm around the other girl’s shoulders to hold her phone, using her left to scroll around the sky above them. They sit in silence for a minute, just watching the screen as it shows them all the constellations hidden in the night sky just above them.

Asami reaches up and taps the screen over Cygnus, which is apparently supposed to look like a swan (but Korra doesn’t really see it).

“Can you read it to me?” she asks, and Korra considers teasing her for a moment until she glances down and sees that Asami’s eyes are brighter than they’ve been since they left Republic City.

“Sure,” she finds herself saying,

So she reads, and at first she’s nervous, her voice quivering. She hasn’t really read out loud since high school, after all. Though when she had, she’d never been shy, at least not like _this._ She feels almost out of breath by the time she finishes the passage.

It only takes a second before Asami is reaching up and pressing another one.

Korra takes a long breath, hoping to steady herself. Asami nestles into her further, and for a moment Korra feels like she’s lost the ability to breathe entirely, but then it breaks, and she finds herself relaxing into the other girl's form. She's rarely in a position where she feels _bigger_ than Asami, and she enjoys the way the larger girl curls against her. She takes a moment to rest her head against Asami’s, and she feels her friend's arm tighten their grip around her waist.

When she starts to speak again, her voice is clear and even.

They continue like this for a while, Asami wordlessly choosing a constellation and Korra telling her the history, the great feats of their namesakes. After a particularly long one, Asami doesn’t select another. Korra lets out a small laugh when she looks down and sees Asami’s eyes closed.

“Sleepy head,” she says. At the sound of her voice Asami startles, her eyes opening for a split second before she shuts them, a small smile spreading over her face.

“I’m just resting my eyes,” she insists. “Keep going.”

“Asami,” Korra nudges her, laughing. “You can’t just _listen_ to the constellations, you have to look!”

Asami pouts out her bottom lip, and Korra huffs.

“ _Fine_ … Ahem — Scorpius is a large constellation, located near the center of the Milky Way…”

It goes on for several more minutes. She’s not sure when exactly Asami falls asleep, but she’s certain she has when she lets out a cute little snore as they near the end of the story of the scorpion, the only constellation Korra has ever really been able to pick out on her own in the sky.

She doesn’t say anything this time, just watches the other girl for a second. Now that her face is relaxed, Korra realizes for the first time how _tense Asami_ has looked lately. She pulls her in a little closer, so that her face is nestled into the crook of Korra’s arm.

She drops a gentle kiss against Asami’s head, forcing herself not to stop and appreciate the softness of the girl’s hair. Instead she rests her cheek there, closing her eyes as she listens to the ocean waves crashing in time with the hammock’s slight sway in the breeze. Before she knows it, she’s asleep.


	7. with friends like ours, anywhere is home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Asami's POV, just so I don't confuse anyone! Thank as always for all the feedback :)

The teapot lets out a loud whistle into the quiet morning air, and Asami is quick to take it off the hot stovetop, glancing around nervously to make sure no one had heard the noise. Her gaze pauses on the window over the sink, overlooking the deck where Korra still lies in the hammock. After a few moments with no movement, she turns to quickly pour the steaming water into her mug, before walking briskly back to her room.

When she gets there, she goes through the door on the far side of the room leading out onto a small wooden balcony. It’s only big enough for two chairs, but Asami had spotted a pair of binoculars in the kitchen and decided to try them out, since she certainly couldn’t _sleep_ for any longer — not after waking like that, no.

She stirs her tea, growing impatient. It had become more of a chore than something to enjoy, lately, but if she didn’t have her daily morning dosage of caffeine, she’d get a bit of a headache. She has more than a bit of a headache right now, as a matter of fact.

_Just how much did I have to drink last night?_

She takes a small taste of her tea and sticks out her tongue at the weak flavor. She sets the mug down on the railing. Binoculars to her eyes, she scans the landscape. There isn’t as much to see as she’d like, not like on the ferry the other day. She spends quite a bit of time just watching the waves as they crash on the shore. When she goes to take a sip of her tea, it’s strong, just like she likes it, and finally a drinkable temperature.

She cradles the mug in her lap with one hand, scrolling through her phone with the other. She frowns when she sees the number in the red bubble over her Mail app.

_Ms. Sato,_

_So sorry to hear of your loss; Republic City has suffered a great tragedy. We all mourn with you._

_Would you be available for an interview about the future prospects of your father’s company? Rumor is you are planning on selling it to the highest bidder. I’m on deadline for 5 p.m., so please call me A.S.A.P. at…_

Asami hits the delete button.

There are several more like it, including emails from her father’s business partners and investors, the stock holders. She tries to block it all out, quitting the app all together after scrolling through not even half of the emails waiting in her inbox. She moves on to her text messages.

She finds something she doesn’t expect there; a sloppily composed text to a number she doesn’t even recognize. _Read at 2:46 a.m._ She squints, trying to decipher what she supposes is her own writing, but it’s difficult.

 _Who’s number is this?_ she types out. She hovers over the send button, not sure if she should elaborate more or not. For all she knows, it could be a stranger. After all, the area code was unfamiliar. She presses send.

 _Lol, Asami!!!_ comes the response just a few seconds later. She frowns at the lack of answer, but then a small bubble appears, letting her know the other person is typing. _This is Opal! We exchanged numbers last night. That message was apparently your way of saving my number in your phone._

And then: _You kind of just smashed on the screen._

Asami can’t help but laugh. _Oh thank god,_ she writes back. _I thought I was so wasted I lost the ability to write._

 _More or less,_ comes the response.

She doesn’t know where to go from here, so she instead takes a long sip of her tea. Not thirty seconds later her phone is buzzing again.

_What are you doing today?_

And then:

_Do you guys want to come over?_

She stares at her phone, uncertain how to answer. _Why does she want to be friends so badly?_ she wonders. _I guess it probably has something to do with Korra._

Something in her stirs — that feeling of jealousy that had been _so_ present the other day, when she’d seen Mako and Korra hugging on the deck. She didn’t know why it was happening. She’d thought about it, and while she may have thought Mako was attractive at one point in time, he was more of a brother to her than anything else at this point. So why the feeling of jealousy?

She’d told Korra it was because she wanted as much of her time before the summer’s end, that she didn’t want to share. She wasn’t sure if she believed it herself, but Korra seemed willing to.

Opal gets to be involved in Korra’s _real_ life, and she can’t help but feel jealous of that. Still, it’s not the girl’s fault, and if she is a part of Korra’s life then who is she to stop Korra from seeing her friends?

 _Sure!_ she sends back after a minute.

_Cool :) Lunch?_

Asami sends back a thumbs up emoji, turns off her screen, and puts the phone on silent before slipping it into her pocket. She stays out on the balcony for a few more minutes, until she’s finished the last drops of her tea in her mug.

When she steps inside, the first thing she notices is that the shower is running. _Someone is up_ , she realizes.

She’s not expecting anyone to be in the kitchen, though, so when she walks in and spots Korra sitting there she barely contains her gasp. She almost considers retreating when the other girl looks up at her, and she tries her best not to look like a deer in headlights.

 _I guess she had to wake up eventually,_ Asami thinks.

“Good morning,” she says, deciding to break the silence.

Korra has a steaming cup of coffee in front of her — and _boy_ does she look like she needs it. A pang of guilt shoots through Asami’s chest. _Can’t really get a good night’s rest on a hammock,_ she thinks, noting her own sore back.

Still, Korra lights up when Asami speaks, smiling back at her. “Morning,” she responds. She takes a long swig of her coffee, and hums contentedly at the taste.

“Where are Bolin and Mako?” Asami asks, looking around the house.

Korra glance out the window. “They went down to the beach a while ago. I think they were going to take the boogie boards out.” Seeing Asami’s frown, she tilts her head. “Why, what did you need?”

“I was just texting Opal, actually,” Asami explains, and Korra’s brow furrows. “She wanted to know if we want to come over for some lunch."

Korra sighs. “Actually, I just told Wu I’d take him grocery shopping. I kinda promised him I'd bake him this cake for his birthday and he won’t stop talking about it. And Bolin’s going to drive us, so I have a feeling we might be gone a while.”

“He does tend to get… distracted,” Asami says, trying to hide her smile.

 _She’s a good friend_ , Asami thinks. She ignores the nagging thought in her head of _no, she’s not_ , pushing it into the far corners of her mind. She told Korra she’d give things until the end of the summer, and she would. For now, those thoughts, those feelings aren’t allowed to exist. But the truth is, she still feels the anger, muted, in her chest. She’s _bitter_ , and it’s petty, and she’s above that but it doesn’t change the fact that sometimes she looks at Korra and she just wants to grab her and —

 _And what?_ she thinks.

“Maybe if you wanted to wait until late afternoon?” Korra breaks the silence between them, jolting Asami out of her thoughts.

She locks eyes with Korra for just a beat too long before clearing her throat. “Um — you know, why don’t you text me when you’re back and we can meet up?”

Korra smiles, but it seems off. “Sure.”

 _Great; you made things awkward,_ she thinks, remembering her sob-fest on Korra’s shoulder the night before.

She had been trying to hold it together around Korra all along, because they’d all lost people and Asami was supposed to be the oldest one of the bunch, the most mature. Mako and Bolin were orphaned at way too young an age and still grew into great people. Korra was still able to get herself through the end of senior year, even though her aunt had died. She herself had lost her mother when she was just a kid. Her friends were strong, _she_ had been strong.

_Then why can’t I be strong now?_

She’d ruined any image she’d had of strength last night.

And _god_ , falling asleep on her in the hammock like that?

_How embarrassing._

Korra had been too nice to wake her up. They’d stayed out there the entire night; Asami woke at dawn with her legs tangled with Korra’s, her head nestled into her chest and for a moment she forgot everything that had happened. It had all been just a dream and they were in high school still, having a sleep over. Her father was right downstairs.

It didn’t take long for her to realize that none of that was true.

//

She figures that she can’t take the car if Korra and Wu are going shopping, so she starts making her way down the stairs to the beach below.

She’s glad that she had decided to change out of last night’s clothes earlier, trading her flip flops in for sneakers. Asami looks for a glimpse of Mako and Bolin as she makes her way down the stairs; they’re pretty far off, she’s gonna have a hard time getting Mako’s attention to see if he wants to come with her to —

She stops suddenly as she’s nearing the bottom, hand coming up to smack her forehead.

 _I didn’t text Opal_ , she realizes. She’d been so eager to get away from the awkward situation with Korra that she hadn’t even told Opal that she was coming over sooner rather than later. Asami eyes the stairs she’d just descended warily and pulls out her phone. She groans when she sees she has no bars.

 _Well, I have two options,_ she reasons. _I can climb back up all of these stairs to have an awkward encounter with Korra, or I could trudge a mile down the beach to have an awkward encounter with Opal._

Somehow, the latter seems much more appealing.

 _It’s too hot for the stairs right now, anyway,_ she reasons, and she doesn’t question why it sounds like an excuse even in her own mind.

When she reaches the shore, she raises a hand to her forehead to try and spot the boys out in the water. _Great, they’ve gone even farther._ She can barely make them out just on the horizon. She waves her arms and calls their names.

“Mako!” she shouts. “Bolin!” she calls a second time, this one as loud as she can manage, but neither figure turns. She waves her arms for a few seconds, dropping them tiredly at her sides when they still don’t spot her.

Asami sighs. She doesn’t know if she should go to Opal’s by herself. That would be _weird_ , right?

 _Maybe I can just go for a walk,_ she thinks. _After all, I don’t even know where she lives. I won’t necessarily even find it._ She convinces herself to at least take some time to herself (and maybe just wait long enough for Wu to have finished getting ready and for Korra to be gone).

She walks slowly along the shore, taking her shoes off so she can get her toes wet along the way. She doesn’t really know where she’s going, but if she remembers correctly Opal said they were about a mile away in this direction, in a beach-house close to shore. Asami doesn’t mind. It feels good to wander.

But when there haven’t been any houses after she’s been walking for nearly twenty minutes, she’s becoming a little worried. She finally spots a rather large house set far back on the beach; when she gets closer, she spots the two jetskis that Opal and her mother had driven up on the other day on the beach outside of the house, and decides to investigate.

A long staircase leads up to the house, high on stilts. Before Asami really knows what she’s doing, she’s making her way up the stairs. She’d walked all this way after all — might as well say _hi_ , right?

At the top of the stairs there’s a wraparound deck. She turns a corner to find a sliding glass door, through which she can see someone sitting at the counter in the kitchen. She decides to knock on the front door just a few feet away instead, just in case by _some_ chance this wasn’t the Beifong’s house.

She’s not sure whether or not she’s relieved when she’s greeted by Opal’s aunt a the door.

“Asami, right?” Lin asks.

Asami straightens her back, stepping forward with a smile. “Lin. It’s nice to see you again. I’m looking for Opal?”

Lin steps back, allowing Asami into the house, and ticks her head to the right, down a hall. “That way, then make a left. She’s at the end of the hall.”

The hall on the right is short, leading to two other halls. She rounds the corner and nearly collides with one of Opal’s bothers, jumping back just in time.

“Oh!” she says, hand jumping to her chest to steady her heart. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

The boy stares back at her, clearly frazzled. He blinks several times before huffing, turning to walk down the hall.

 _Jeez,_ Asami thinks, watching him retreat. _Haun is not very… friendly._ She continues down the hall, stopping to knock on the door at the end.

“Come in,” Opal calls. Much to Asami’s relief, her face breaks out into a smile when she sees her standing in the doorway. “Asami! You’re here early.”

“Yeah,” she says with an embarrassed smile. “I tried to text but it wasn’t going through. I can come back later if you want?”

“No, no!” Opal says, waving her hand. “I’m just sorry about the mess,” she says, grabbing a broom propped against the wall. Asami notices for the first time that Opal is standing in the middle of a floor covered in small chunks of hair. “He’s been bugging me to for a haircut for days.”

“You know how to cut hair?” Asami asks, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah — my mother always cut my brother’s hair, and I just sort of took it up when I got old enough,” she shrugs. “I’m not great with the scissors but I do pretty good with a buzzer. Why, you want something done?”

Asami falters. “Oh. I hadn’t thought about it.” Her hand raises to run her fingers through her hair.

She hadn’t cut it since she was a child (except for a trim here and there to avoid split ends, of course). She’d always been too much in the public eye, and her father would never have let her have any sort of “radical" haircut. She was a businesswoman in training, an inventing prodigy. There were certain standards she had to live up to, and she had always been more than happy to comply.

Opal shrugs. “Undercut might look pretty neat, but it’s up to you.”

“Like, what Haun has?” Asami asks. She tries to picture it, scratching at her scalp.

“Oh, for sure!” Opal says, walking up behind Asami with a hand mirror. She holds it in front of them, pulling a chunk of Asami’s hair so it’s flattened against her head.

She’s surprised with what she sees.

“What do you think?” Opal asks, making eye contact with her through the mirror. She’s grinning as if she already knows what Asami is going to say.

 _Why not?_ she thinks. _Korra cut all her hair off._

“Let’s do it.”

Opal flips on the buzzer, and Asami holds back a flinch. Opal apparently notices it anyway, because she lets out a giggle.

“When was the last time you cut your hair?” she asks.

Asami shrugs. “I get it trimmed every few months but I haven’t really changed the length since I was a kid.”

Opal nods. “Strict parents?” she asks, and she means it as a joke, Asami’s _sure_ , but that doesn’t stop the flinch from escaping this time. When she glances up Opal is staring down at her, concerned, and she sighs.

_Great._

“My father… he died, almost a month ago,” she admits, and she’s surprised that she doesn’t hate the look of sympathy that spreads across Opal’s face. “And yeah, he _was_ a little strict,” she says, trying to lighten the situation. Opal offers her a smile.

She strokes the brush through Asami’s hair a few times. “So do you want it all the way around, or just on one side or...?”

Asami shrugs. “I usually part it on the left, if that helps.”

“All right, we’ll start there.” And just like that, Opal tilts Asami’s head to the side and brings the buzzer to her head.

//

“What do you think?”

Asami holds the mirror at arm’s length, turning her head so she can see the hair — or lack there of.

She brings her hand up to touch it, surprised at how soft it is when she rubs it. “Wow,” she whispers.

“Do you like it?” Opal asks, beginning to look a little nervous.

Asami laughs, dispelling her nerves. “Opal, _yes_ , I love it. Thank you!”

Opal grins back at her. “I’m so glad.” She admires her handy work for a moment before an idea occurs to her. “We should go for a swim, rinse off all this hair,” she suggests.

Asami looks away sheepishly. Another thing she had forgotten in her rush to leave: a bathing suit. “Uh— I know it’s silly, seeing as we’re on a beach and all but I actually… forgot my bathing suit?”

Opal shrugs. “I have plenty, you can borrow one of mine.”

Asami can’t find a good reason to argue, and before she knows it she’s squeezed into one of Opal’s bathing suits (the girl is quite a bit shorter and smaller than her) and walking with her the short stretch to the water.

 _It sure doesn’t feel like we’re practically strangers,_ Asami notes, glancing at the girl walking next to her. She’s not sure how to explain her fast friendship with the girl. _I mean, I trusted her to shave my head. That’s a pretty big deal, right?_

Then again, she could just be being reckless.

She dives into the water headfirst, taking a few large leaps into the water to get deep enough. It’s warmer than she’s expecting — she hasn’t done much swimming since they’ve arrived, just dipped her feet in here and there. Her head is lighter than she’s used to when she emerges, without thick water-logged hair weighing down one side. She scratches at the freshly buzzed hairs again, and can’t help the smile that spreads on her face.

“Mind if I swim some laps?” Opal asks, and Asami shakes her head. She watches for a moment as Opal takes off in the water, steadily making her way out to a buoy.

She lays on her back after a moment, enjoying the sun beating on her skin.

She’s not sure how long she’s been laying there (not long enough to burn, she hopes), but she’s pruning when Opal finishes her lap and says they should probably get some lunch.

“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but this has been surprisingly fun,” Opal says as they make their way up the beach.

Asami isn’t offended. She understands what the girl meant — she wasn’t entirely sure _why_ she’d come all the way here, alone, in the first place. But she was pretty glad she had. “I really appreciate the invite,” she says.

Opal laughs. “Yeah, that. Sorry if I seem… eager,” she says. Asami doesn’t respond, just raises her eyebrows at the girl.

“I just am kind of worried. I have this best friend that I go to school with, and lately things have been… _different_ , between us,” Opal says, and Asami is suddenly very interested in what the girl has to say. “I think things might get weird when we go back to school and I just don’t want to be all _alone_ up there.She’s kind of the center of our friend group,” she explains. “If stuff goes down… I don’t think I’ll have much left.”

_“_ Well, I think we could definitely be friends,” Asami says, smiling. “At the very least, I appreciate the honesty."

“I know some of your shit, you might as well know a bit of mine,” she says, shrugging. Asami doesn’t argue, just towel dries her hair.

Opal’s ringtone goes off just as they reach the house.

“Ugh, no fair, you have service out here?” Asami asks. Opal smirks before looking to see who is calling, her eyes lighting up. She swipes to answer.

“Hey Bolin,” she answers. Asami watches as the girl’s cheeks begin to flush.

 _Oh my god_ , she laughs when she realizes: _Opal is nervous. Around Bolin_!

Of course, the kid was handsome. She knew that, objectively. But to her, Bo would always look like a boy in middle school.

“That’s great, I’ll text you the address right now. Okay. Yeah, sure. Okay, see you soon!”

Asami just looks at her expectantly when she hangs up.

“ _What?_ ” Opal asks, glaring at Asami.

Asami shrugs. “Oh, nothing,” she says.

Opal holds her glare for a few more seconds before breaking. “I know, I know, okay. It’s totally obvious, isn’t it?”

Asami laughs. “Completely. The good news is I can pretty much guarantee you that it’s not obvious to _him.”_

 _“_ Really?” Opal asks. “How?”

“Trust me,” Asami says. “I’ve known Bolin for like half of his life. He has no idea.”

Opal visibly relaxes. “Okay, good.”

She waits until they get back into the house to continue the conversation. “You’re not going to tell Bolin, right?” Opal asks, closing the door to her room.

Asami shakes her head. “I would never,” she promises.

"Some guys just get so _weird_ when they know you like them,” she explains, sitting down on the bed next to Asami. "And we’re only going to be here for a few weeks and you guys are from like _really_ far away.”

Asami sighs. “Yeah. This is pretty temporary.”

At sound of car doors slamming just outside Opal jumps up. “Oh my god, he’s here,” she says. She looks at Asami, panicked. “My hair is going to get all frizzy if I just let it dry. Can you go out there and buy me a few minutes?”

Asami looks down at her borrowed bikini and slightly pink skin and sighs.

“Try to make it quick, okay?”


	8. made all our plans down on the sand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

There are more flavors of boxed cake mix than Korra is expecting.

“What’s Devil’s Food?” she asks, turning to Bolin. 

“Oh my god, Korra, you did not just ask me that,” he groans, the back of his hand rising to cover his eyes. “I have so much to teach you.” 

Wu is studying the boxes individually, considering each one for what feels like a minute to Korra before moving on to the next. She looks at her watch, frowning.  
  
“Waiting for something?” Bolin asks, smirking.  
  
Korra shakes her head. “No, it’s just getting kind of late. It’s already almost two. We told them we’d be there for lunch.”  
  
Bolin shrugs. “It’ll be okay. I’m sure they’ll wait for us to eat, if that’s what you’re worried about. Besides, it’s probably good for Asami to get to know Opal a little better.”  
  
She sighs. “I don’t know, you don’t think it’s weird?” Korra pauses her idle search through the boxes to look at Bolin. “Her going there all by herself, I mean?”  
  
“Asami is a friendly person! And she can use all the friends she can get right now, right?” he says, moving on to the chocolate icings before frowning slightly at Korra. “Why, do you think it’s weird?”  
  
She falters, then presses her lips together, shaking her head. “No, it’s not that — I guess it’s just me. It’s like two worlds colliding, you know?  
  
“Yeah, I get why that would be weird for you,” Bolin agrees, reading each and every icing label as he moves along. “What do you think of cream cheese icing?”  
  
Korra shrugs. “It’s good on carrot cake.” She puts down her box of moist chocolate cake and frowns. “What do you think the difference is between these?” she asks, holding up two different boxes of plain yellow cake.  
  
“Oh my god,” Wu squeaks from behind her. “They have funfetti!”  
  
He reaches forward and grabs the box. Korra frowns. “That’s so sweet. _Blegh_ ,” she says, and he nods enthusiastically.  
  
“Do they have the funfetti icing?” he asks, moving towards Bolin. Korra rolls her eyes and follows him down the aisle.  
  
//  
  
The GPS directs them to the address Opal texts to Bolin. The road to her house is less hilly than theirs, and to their surprise leads down a sandy path along the beach. Small bungalows are placed in close quarters at first, growing further apart the farther they move down the road.  
  
They arrive at a small, gray house, propped up on stilts. The water is a lot closer than Korra would have imagined, and she can't help but wish she could hear the water like this from their house on the bluffs.  
  
“She said the door would be open,” Bolin explains as he makes his way up the stairs. He tests it, and grins when it cracks open.  
  
“Hello?” Bolin's voice echoes into the kitchen.  
  
“Hey, Bolin,” Korra hears Asami answer from inside. She moves to follow Bolin, but he stops short in front of her.  
  
“Oh. My. God.” Bolin squeals, and Korra peeks around his shoulder.  
  
Opal emerges from around the corner, her grin wide. “You guys like it?” she prompts, looking at Korra, whose face has gone slack.  
  
She stares straight ahead at Asami, her eyes focused on how long Asami's neck now looks with the shaved skin above, how it would feel to run her tongue across the pulse there.  
  
She’s so distracted by the hair that it takes her a few seconds to take in Asami has a whole, but when she does she has to force her gaze not to linger. Asami is wearing a bathing suit that is smaller than any one she has ever seen her friend in, showing off much more skin than she’s really seen out in the open like this before.  
  
“It's— it's nice,” she manages once she realizes Opal's question is directed towards her. Asami tries to hide the look of disappointment that flashes across her face at Korra’s unenthusiastic tone, but Opal notices it and moves over to her new friend.  
  
“Well, I for one think you look hot, but maybe I'm biased,” Opal says, reaching her hand over to arrange a stray lock on Asami's head. “I did cut it, after all.”  
  
Bolin's draw drops again. “You did this?! That's amazing!”  
  
“Can you do mine?” Wu asks, holding a hand up to his hair.  
  
“I don't think your parents would like that. No cool haircuts until you're eighteen,” Bolin instructs.  
  
Korra can't help but think Bolin must get a kick out of getting to be older than one of his friends, for once. Maybe that's why the two have been getting along so well.  
  
Wu huffs but doesn't protest.  
  
Bolin claps his hands together. “So, lunch anybody?”  
  
Everyone goes to grab some bags from the car, but Korra stops Opal as she reaches the door.  
  
“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” she asks. Opal nods, moving to sit at the counter. “In private?” she clarifies. Opal frowns at her but leads her down the hall and into a bedroom.  
  
She waits until Opal shuts the door to begin. “I just… wanted to know how your day with Asami was?” It’s awkward, she knows, but she can’t work up the courage to ask directly if she had made a mistake trusting Opal to not tell her friends about her sexuality.  
  
Luckily Opal seems to understand what she means. She smiles grimly at her, lips drawn into a thin line. “I didn’t tell her about your secret, if that’s what you’re asking.” She hesitates, then leans a little closer to Korra. “You know, she doesn’t strike me as the sort of person who would be judgemental,” Opal says.  
  
Korra frowns. “I think I know her better than you,” she says, and Opal’s eyes grow a little wide at her harsh tone. Korra feels bad, because she _shouldn’t_ be snapping, but if she doesn’t want anyone to know her business, then well — it’s none of their business. And it’s none of Opal’s, either.  
  
“Of course,” she is quick to say. “I wasn’t implying—”  
  
“Then what _were_ you implying?” Korra interrupts, folding her arms in front of her chest.  
  
Opal straightens her back. “Just that I think you might need to consider just why it is you want to hide from your friends,” she says, her voice firm. Part of Korra wants to challenge her, but the other part of her is tired, and doesn’t want to fight the knowledge that Opal is right.  
  
Coming out was something that just terrified her. When she was dating Kuvira, at first she didn’t want anyone to know about their relationship because she didn’t want people thinking of her as the straight girl who came to school and started sleeping with her team captain to get ahead. The longer it went on, the more she started to realize that she wasn’t straight to begin with, and things got even scarier.  
  
But not being willing to come out had cost her her relationship with Kuvira, and now it was getting in the way of another relationship — her friendship with Asami. How was she going to build a best friendship with the girl while hiding a big part of herself? That wouldn’t be fair to Asami, especially when she takes into consideration her stupid attraction to the girl she can’t quite seem to squash.  
  
_The haircut isn’t helping_ , Korra thinks.  
  
“Thank you for not saying anything,” Korra says. “And I’m sorry for not trusting you.”  
  
Opal shrugs, smiling. “It’s fine,” she says. “I don’t blame you, with the way Kuvira was pressuring you and all.”  
  
Korra frowns. “Oh.” Just how much does Opal know about her and Kuvira’s relationship, anyway? Kuvira was a private person; she wouldn’t expect her to have shared very much, even with her best friends. “You heard about that? I didn't think Kuvira liked to discuss her... personal life.”  
  
“Yeah, well,” Opal shrugs. “What I don’t hear about from Kuvira herself I hear from Bataar.” She freezes, her eyes wide, and Korra feels like someone has poured ice down her back.  
  
“Bataar?” she asks, even though she doesn't really want to know why Kuvira would have a stronger relationship with the water boy than her own best friend.  
  
“ _Maybe you should bring Bataar_?” she hears helself suggesting to her girlfriend what feels like years ago now. The look of disgust on Kuvira's face at her words — Korra had always assumed it was about her choice in fake-date. _Maybe it was me she was disgusted with._  
  
Opal grimaces. “I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to tell you.”  
  
Korra doesn't need her to elaborate.  
  
“Oh,” she says again. She doesn't feel the rage she was expecting, nor the sadness. The ache in her chest is gone, replaced with... nothing.  
  
“I'm sorry,” Opal says again, her lips slanting into a concerned frown.  
  
Korra shakes her head. “No, no. It's fine. I'm fine.” She hears herself saying the words, but can't say for sure whether she chose them herself or they'd just come out of her on their own.  
  
“If it makes you feel any better, I don't think it's serious,” Opal offers.  
  
Korra gives her a tight-lipped smile. “Let's go help with lunch.”  
  
Opal leads her into the kitchen, where Bolin is searching through the cabinets. “Oh, there you are!” he says, noticing Opal as soon as she steps into the room. “Where are your mixing bowls?”  
  
Opal points to a high cabinet and Bolin had to stand on his tippy-toes to reach it.  
  
Korra goes to sit next to Wu at the counter. She works her jaw as she sits, staring at her hands.  
  
“ _Hello, sugar plum_ ,” she hears Bataar cooing into his phone the night before. She feels like she might be sick.  
  
“I'm thinking beach party,” Wu is saying. “Korra's preparing a delicious cake for our enjoyment,” he says, fumbling as he tries to find the smartest sounding words in front of Asami, who he must have realized by now is a genius.  
  
“Ooh— what kind?” Asami asks. Korra notes the beer bottle in her hand, and wonders when she started drinking _beer?_ The thought is fleeting, replaced with the nagging voice in her head reminding her of the information she’d just learned, and she goes numb again.  
  
She tries to feel anything, anger even at her ex for moving on so fast, but how can she when she was the one who suggested the relationship to her in the first place?  
  
“ _Maybe you should bring Bataar?”_  
  
“Funfetti!” Wu exclaims.  
  
Asami sticks out her tongue. “Too sweet for me.”  
  
“How does chicken salad sound?” Bolin interrupts.  
  
“Yum,” Asami says, and Wu nods appreciatively. Bolin turns his gaze towards Korra, who doesn't notice him staring at her for just a beat too long. She startles when she spots him.  
  
“That's fine,” she says, her voice a lot weaker than she's expecting it to be. Bolin is oblivious, happily moving back to the counter to join Opal in preparing lunch, but Asami frowns at her for a second before turning back to her conversation with Wu.  
  
Korra busies herself on her phone until the sandwiches are done, for once not even curious to see the posts from her ex. She's playing Tetris when Bolin lays a sandwich in front of her, cut diagonally just the way she likes it.  
  
She smiles at her friend, but can’t seem to find enough of an appetite, barely finishing half of the sandwich before she’s full.  
  
“It’s just really filling,” she explains when Opal looks at her half-sandiwch abandoned on her plate.  
  
“Can I have your crust?” Bolin asks, picking up the bread ends before Korra has a chance to answer.  
  
//  
  
They decide to go for a swim, completely ignoring Wu’s insistence that they must wait a half an hour after eating to go into the water.  
  
Korra’s not sure whether or not to be disappointed when Asami declines to join them, opting instead to lay on the beach and read.  
  
_Still avoiding me_ , Korra notes, though it isn’t really unusual behavior for Asami. Still, she doesn’t have the energy to argue with the negative voice in her head. She changes into her bathing suit and follows her friends into the water.  
  
Bolin challenges them to a game of chicken — Korra and Mako end up on the bottom, with Opal and Bolin balanced on their shoulders. She can’t help but get competitive when Mako’s involved, and the game distracts her enough to laugh for a little while with her friends, especially when Opal topples Bolin off his brother’s shoulders.  
  
After a while they split up, the boys deciding to race. Korra flips onto her back, floating there for and trying to clear her mind. The water is warm around her, and every so often a wave rushes water over her face. She doesn’t splutter, just braces herself and lets it wash over her.  
  
When she opens her eyes again she’s surprised to notice how long the sun is hanging in the sky. They didn’t come out until past three, but she still hadn’t realized it had been _hours_.  
  
She looks around; Opal and Bolin are sitting next to each other at the shore, letting the waves wash over their feet. She can see Mako and Wu sitting on the Beifong’s deck; Mako with a book in his hand, Wu with a cellphone. Asami hasn’t moved from her spot on the beach.  
  
Korra makes her way out of the water, grabbing her towel from where she left it up the shore and wrapping it around her torso. Korra passes Asami as she heads towards the house, waiting to see if the girl would acknowledge her. She doesn’t, so she keeps silent as she passes.  
  
_Maybe she’s asleep_ , she reasons, though she doesn’t believe it for even a second.  
  
She dries off on the deck, pulling her t-shirt over her bathing suit once it’s not soaking.  
  
“Didn’t know you were such a water bug,” Wu comments as Korra wrings out her hair in a towel.  
  
“I grew up on the water,” she explains. He leans in, head on his hands, eager to hear her story, but she doesn’t continue. Instead she heads back onto the beach. She stands with her toes in the sand at the base of the staircase, looking back and forth between Asami lying on her towel and Bolin and Opal, who seem to have gotten even closer to each other in the sand.  
  
_I wouldn’t want to interrupt_ , she thinks.  
  
She starts to walk towards Asami, hesitating as she gets nearer. _What if she doesn’t want to talk to me? She didn’t say hi earlier._ She forces herself to keep walking. _Maybe she was asleep,_ she reasons again.  
  
If she was asleep earlier, she isn’t now. Asami is lying on her back, her eyes wide as she stares into the sky. She glances up to Korra as she approaches, and Korra’s relieved when she offers her a friendly smile. “Hey,” she says, before looking away.  
  
“You've been out here for a while,” Korra comments. Asami hums in response. She follows the girl's eyes up to the first stars, just appearing in the sky. “You okay?” she asks, resisting the urge to bring up the night before, gazing at the stars. Asami hadn't mentioned it all day — she's been evasive ever since.  
  
“I'm okay,” Asami repeats back to her, her voice a low chant. Korra frowns, disappointed that Asami is still being non-communicative. Would it kill her to give her a sentence longer than two words?  
  
“Okay. I'll leave you to it, then,” she says, and begins to turn away.  
  
“Wait." A hand grips around her arm, stopping her from moving. She glances down at Asami, who’s eyes are focused on her fingers curled around Korra’s bicep. “Can you just… lay here with me for a little?”  
  
It's a rapid change of pace from the Asami who wouldn't even look at her five seconds ago, and she swallows thickly.  
  
She thinks quickly back to that morning, the sore disappointment she felt when she woke up and realized Asami wasn’t there, and almost says no. But then Asami looks at her and her eyes are big and growing dark with the dusk, and it felt _so good_ to just lay there with her the night before that —  
  
“Sure,” she’s surprised to find herself saying before she even finishes her thought. Asami’s eyes soften further, and she doesn’t regret it.  
  
She lays next to Asami, her side so close to the other girl’s that she can practically _feel_ her there even though there's a few inches between them.  
  
“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way,” Korra starts, and Asami shoots her a look. “No, really — I just need to ask. The hair thing, it’s pretty… radical. Are you really okay?”  
  
Asami laughs, and Korra smiles uncertainly, unsure whether or not she’d offended. “I can see why you wouldn’t want me to take that the wrong way,” Asami says after she’s stopped laughing. “To be honest, I don’t know. I just kind of… _did it_. I’ve never done anything like that before.”  
  
“Hm,” Korra frowns. “I don’t know. What about the time you decided to run for student body president because that jackass Tahno told you he couldn’t ever lose to a girl.”  
  
Asami smirks, and Korra nudges her shoulder. “I’d say that was pretty impulsive. And look how great that turned out — you won! This wasn't a bad move either; did I mention I love the hair?”  
  
“No, you hadn’t actually,” Asami says, cheeks flushing a light pink that Korra can just barely see in the moonlight.  
  
Still, despite her flattery Asami looks insecure, and she wants to do something to stop that. Asami needs to be able to grieve, and if that meant chopping off her hair, then… well, so be it. She should be comfortable with that.  
  
“You’ve always been bold, Asami,” Korra says, trying to sound reassuring. Asami’s reaction is unexpected, her smile faltering as she laughs out a short breath. “What?” Korra asks.  
  
“Nothing,” Asami says. “It’s nothing.”  
  
“You can tell me,” she says, and her hand finds Asami’s in the sand. She doesn’t know if it’s welcome or not until Asami’s fingers curl in between hers, squeezing hard.  
  
“I’m just… not as brave as you make me sound. I don’t think I _can_ be,” she says, her voice quiet. Her eyes are trained on Korra’s. Korra tries not to focus on the way Asami’s thumb strokes at the back of her hand, instead finding herself concerned with the shaking tone of her friend’s voice.  
  
Korra frowns. “I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything,” she says. “There’s no rules here. You just go at your own speed.”  
  
Asami’s eyes fill and Korra wishes she hadn’t said anything at all. But then Asami sniffs, and the hand that isn’t currently wrapped around Korra’s quickly swipes at her eyes.  
  
Korra wants to reach out and hug the girl; she doesn’t but just the consideration makes her think of how much closer she feels to Asami than she did when they first arrived at the beach house just days before. It’s amazing how easy it was to get back to where they were, before everything went wrong.  
  
_It’s just for the summer_ , she reminds herself. But she can’t help the nagging feeling that that isn’t _okay_ anymore, that she wants this to last longer than just the month their here. Asami is her best friend; that hasn’t changed, she knows that now. She doesn’t want to lose that again.  
  
“I really missed you,” Korra admits in a whisper. It’s so quiet that she hopes for a second that Asami didn’t hear it, but then the girl is turning on her side and pulling Korra in.  
  
They hug for what feels like minutes to Korra — she must be imagining things though, right? When Asami pulls back she doesn’t go far, her face just a few inches from Korra. She puts one hand under her head to make her eye level with the other girl.  
  
“Thank you,” she says, but doesn’t elaborate. When Asami speaks, the warmth of her breath hits Korra in the face; she tries not to flinch. She wants to swallow, but her throat is too dry, and she doesn’t want to risk coughing so close to Asami.  
  
_God, she really is close._  
  
The dryness spreads to her eyes, wide as they stare at the girl in front of her, who has never looked more beautiful to her than she does in this moment. Korra’s never had the opportunity to look at her like this, one piece of her at a time. She’s too close to see the whole picture, after all. Instead she finds herself taking in everything about her eyes, first; she avoids looking at her lips until last, taking only a glance there on her way up from Asami’s jawline. She finds the girl staring back at her, eyes slightly wide, and she realizes she hasn’t responded to Asami.  
  
Korra nods, doing her best to smile. Asami returns it, gently, a small furrow in her brow. She raises her hand and pauses for a second to breathe before moving it forward into Korra’s hair.  
  
“I really do like the new look,” she says, and her voice practically rings in Korra’s ears. Her heart begins to race and she feels it everywhere, at her fingertips, in her stomach, on her lips — everything about her thrums in time as Asami pauses to scratch at the back of her neck.  
  
“Thanks,” she stutters out. She’s breathing faster than she would like to be, and she wonders if Asami notices.  
  
The fingers in her hair trail from her neck to around her ear, thumb and pointer coming out to pinch the lobe there before sliding to Korra’s jaw. Her fingers curl around the sharp line of her jawbone, and Korra suddenly feels like she can’t breathe.  
  
"Asami," Korda warns, her voice low, because does Asami even _know_ what she's doing to her right now?  
  
And maybe she does, because Asami's eyes darken at the sound of her voice and her eyes fall to Korra's lips. She can't help but to dart her tongue out and moisten them and suddenly Asami is close, moving closer, eyes never leaving Korra’s mouth and she surprises herself by moving away.  
  
There's a breathlessness between them; it hangs heavy in the air for a moment before Asami is moving backwards, fast, and the world feels suddenly cold around her.  
  
"Sorry," she rushes out, but it's too late. Asami is sitting up, her knees tucked against her chest.  
  
"For what?" Asami asks, her voice lacking its usual playful inflection. Korra swallows. "Nothing happened."  
  
She has to strain to hear her, but when she does her chest tightens. "Right."  
  
Asami doesn't seem to believe it herself. "Shouldn't have drank so much," she forces out with a laugh. Korra frowns, trying to remember if she smelled alcohol on her friend's breath. She hadn't, but it had been so _fast,_ hadn't it? She wishes she hadn't pulled away, that she'd let Asami kiss her.  
  
_Asami was going to kiss me,_ she realizes suddenly and her mouth goes dry.  
  
Asami stands.  
  
"I think it's time to go home.”  
  
She’s walking away before Korra has time to respond.


	9. remember when we were younger, all we wanted was each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I didn't even realize it had been two weeks until someone sent me a message asking when I'd update. Whoops! Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave me a comment, it's so cool having more than one hundred!
> 
> Here's a short one -- be warned, it's a flashback.

_Republic City High School, Three Years Ago_

Asami’s been in her seat for nearly a minute when the bell rings.   
  
“Open your books to page 94 and do the odd-numbered practice questions at the bottom,” the teacher instructs, her voice harsh. She's one of Asami’s least favorite teachers, second to only the grumpy, monotone history instructor that she’s had for two years in a row. She’s the only Calculus teacher in the school, however, so Asami had no choice but to enroll in her class — if she wants to get into an engineering program, anyway.   
  
She pulls out her notebook and flips to a blank page. She copies the problems one-by-one, barely paying attention as she does; math class hasn’t challenged her since the beginning of high school, after all.   
  
The seat in front of her remains empty as she makes her way through the problems, but Asami isn’t worried — Korra is always running late. True to form, ten seconds later the door bursts open. Korra flashes the teacher an apologetic smile before turning and making her way down Asami’s row. As soon as her eyes land on her friend, Korra’s face lights up.   
  
It’s third period — an unusually long time for Asami and Korra to go without seeing each other in the mornings. But Korra has been  _so_ busy with Mako lately. The two had only been dating for a few months, but it was a whirlwind of a romance. It kind of had to be, considering they were graduating in less than a month and Korra isn’t planning on sticking around.  
  
_She’s coming with me_ , Asami thinks. It sounds possessive, even in her own mind, and she’s quick to excuse it.  _Best friends stick together._  
  
Her phone vibrates in her pocket — Asami hopes for a second that it’s her friend, texting her from just a foot away with a funny story about why she’s late, but is even more pleasantly surprised to see it’s a message from her father.   
  
_I won’t be home tonight or tomorrow — last minute meeting in California. Pizza money is on the counter._  
  
A few seconds later, her phone buzzes again.  
  
_Love you_ , the message reads, and Asami smiles, an idea quickly forming in her head.   
  
She pulls out a piece of paper, paying no attention to the class around her, as she begins to write a message. A minute later she's putting the finishing touches on her note — _is the heart too much? Oh well._ She folds it into a triangle, waiting for the teacher to turn her back for the chalkboard before leaning forward and slipping the note into Korra’s hand, hanging by her side as she slumps in her desk.   
  
Korra seems to come alive at the note, sitting up straight for the first time since the bell rang. She hunches over and Asami can faintly hear the sound of paper unfolding, before her friend is turning around, grinning.   
  
_Dad went on a last minute business trip — party tonight?_ the note reads.  
  
The invitation is unnecessary — there’s no question that Korra is coming. They spend most of their nights together anyway, and this one wasn’t going to be any different.   
  
“Korra, Asami — do I have to seperate you two?” the teacher reprimands from the front of the room.   
  
“No Mrs. Pew,” Korra drones. A couple of people chuckle, and the teacher shoots them a silencing glare before turning back to face the board, continuing her lecture. Korra turns as soon as the teacher does, quickly smiling at Asami while flashing her a thumbs-up.  
  
_Party on_ , she mouths, and Asami holds back a laugh.   
  
//  
  
It may be last minute, but the Sato’s have never thrown a bad party, and tonight would be no exception.  
  
After school she’d gone to the gas station across town where she never gets carded and bought a few cases of beer — not that she even likes the stuff, but it would hardly be a high school party without it, and this was going to be a  _bash._  They only had a few weeks until graduation and everyone was getting antsy — it’ll be good to get some of that energy out in a (mostly) harmless way.   
  
She grabs a few stacks of red cups and as many bottles of soda as she can hold. Her father keeps the liquor cabinet in the basement abundantly stocked ( _and thankfully unlocked_ ), even though he’s never been a big drinker.   
  
_He won’t miss these_ , she thinks as she pulls a few bottles out.   
  
Her phone buzzes in her pocket as she makes her way out of the basement, and she’s quick to pull it out. Korra was supposed to be here more than an hour ago to help clean and get ready; Asami tried her best not to be worried, because Korra is  _always late_ , but she can’t help it.  
  
She frowns when she reads the words on her screen.  
  
_Sorry — running late. Be there ASAP._  
  
_Not even an excuse?_ Asami sighs, shoving her phone in her pocket without answering.   
  
She’s just finished laying out the spread on a table in the living room when the door bell rings. It’s a group of kids from the drama club, and Asami welcomes them in with a smile.   
  
Fifteen minutes later and the living room is quickly filling with people.   
  
She finds herself making conversation with one of the boys on the baseball team she’d never really met.  _Mako must have invited him_ , she thinks. He’s nice enough, if not just a little awkward, so she doesn’t really mind, but she’s quick to excuse herself when the doorbell rings again.  
  
She’s happy when she sees it's Korra and Mako on the other side of the door.   
  
“About time,” she jokes, throwing open the door to welcome them in. Mako laughs, pausing to give her a quick hug before making his way into the house. Korra trails behind, watching him retreat with a slight frown on her face.   
  
“What took you guys so long?” Asami asks, even though she doesn’t really need to. She already knows:  _they were fighting. They fight way too much,_ she thinks.   
  
“It was nothing,” Korra assures her with a tight smile. Asami raises her eyebrows at her friend, skeptical, and Korra’s smile drops, the corners tugging back down into a frown. She sighs. “We just had a small fight.”   
  
_Of course._  
  
She tries to hold her tongue; it doesn’t work.   
  
“You’ve been having a lot of those lately,” Asami comments, leading Korra into the hall and shutting the door behind her. They don’t move towards the living room, where Mako leans in the doorway.  
  
Korra shakes her head, watching as Mako throws back his head and laughs at something one of his friends from the baseball team said. “He’s just stressed, you know? Graduation is coming up and he still doesn’t really know what he’s doing about school.”   
  
_Doesn’t look stressed to me,_  she thinks. She’s not sure why she’s harboring such anger for Mako. He’s her friend, after all.  _I just don’t like seeing Korra hurt,_ she decides.   
  
Asami frowns. “Yeah, he can’t really leave Bolin, huh?”   
  
Korra nods her head, eyes not leaving her boyfriend in the other room. “He’s just stressed.”  
  
“But he shouldn’t take it out on you,” Asami points out with a squeeze of Korra’s shoulder. Korra finally breaks her stare, turning to Asami with a forced smile. “You deserve better than that, and I’m saying that as Mako’s friend, too.”   
  
“I know, I know. I’ll talk to him about it.”  
  
Her assurance doesn't make Asami feel any better, but the conversation is clearly over, Korra turning to head into the living room, where everyone seems to be gathering.   
  
Asami follows.   
  
Mako is talking when they walk up.  
  
“Yeah, I think I’m going to take a year off — maybe go to RCCC,” he’s saying with a shrug. He notices the girls as they walk up beside him and grins. “Asami here is probably going to go Ivy League,” he says.   
  
She shrugs. “We’ll see.” It’s true, she probably  _could_  get into an Ivy League school if she wanted, but…   
  
“Where are you going to school, Korra?” one of the guys asks.   
  
Korra’s smile falters, but Asami is pretty sure she’s the only one who notices as she recovers quickly. She shrugs. “We’ll see. Right now I’m just trying to sort through all the acceptance letters.” The boys laugh.   
  
Her eyes flit to Asami’s before dropping to the floor.   
  
_Korra is smart._  Asami knows that, but her grades haven't always proved it. Korra has worked really hard in the past year to get her grades up enough to go to a school more on Asami’s level, but she's still nervous about her friend’s chances.  
  
_Acceptance letters are still coming in,_  she thinks.But the idea of them not getting into the same college makes Asami feel sick.   
  
_It’ll all work out. It always does,_  she assures herself.  _Best friends stick together_.   
  
And they had. Through thick and thin, it had been Korra and Asami for years.   
  
“Let’s liven this party up!” a voice shouts from the middle of the room. Asami turns to find Tahno, and grimaces.  _Who invited him?_ Still, his voice commands a lot of attention, and everyone abides, turning to him as the room falls silent. “As this is one of the final parties of our high school careers, I propose we do something quintessentially high school,” he announces. He pauses dramatically, and everyone waits for him to continue. “Spin the bottle!”   
  
Asami holds back a groan, but the boys in the room cheer. Korra rolls her eyes as Mako waggles his eyebrows at her.   
  
“All right, all right,” Korra conceeds. “But I need a drink first.”  
  
//  
  
Tahno goes first, of course. He rolls up his sleeves, dragging out the moment, before spinning the bottle as fast as it can go. It lands on a pretty cheerleader, and Asami resists the urge to roll her eyes as he smiles — more like  _sneers_  up at the girl, who seems all-too-pleased with this development. Asami makes sure she doesn’t watch as the two make-out for way too long in the middle of the circle.   
  
The cheerleader spins the bottle and lands on Mako, who gives her a respectful peck on the lips before settling back in next to his girlfriend.   
  
Mako’s hand hovers over the bottle for a second, and Asami can see the gears turning in his head,  calculating the exact momentum the glass would need to land where he wants it. He smirks when it lands on Korra, just as he planned.   
  
“Gross,” one of the boys comments as Mako turns to Korra with a smile. He leans in, and Asami’s chest constricts as Korra’s eye’s soften as she moves to meet him.   
  
_She’s so in love with him,_ she thinks.   
  
She hates the idea of it. At first they had made a cute couple, sure, but with they way things are going between them it’s only normal that she hates the idea of her best friend dating someone who makes her unhappy…  _right_?   
  
“Soulmates,” a girl’s voice sighs. Asami can’t seem to tear her eyes away, watching as Korra’s hand rises to cup Mako’s cheek.  
  
“Look at these kids, they're meant for each other,” a guy in a jersey coos, before rolling his eyes. Mako grins into this kiss, dipping Korra back a little dramatically. “All right, break it up already lovebirds.”  
  
Korra blushes as she pulls away, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips. Asami drops her eyes, her face burning with an unrecognizable heat. She doesn’t have much time to consider it before Korra is reaching down, finding the bottle and giving it a hard spin without a second thought.   
  
Asami doesn’t see Mako’s frown, or the way Korra peeks up at her with a sheepish smile, or the way the boys in the circle clap their hands together and whoop loudly.   
  
All she sees is the bottle as it rocks back and forth where it landed, pointing straight at her.   
  
“All right, Asami!” Someone claps her on the back. The force of it topples her from her kneeling position and she catches herself with her hands. She makes eye contact with Korra across the circle, and her world goes quiet. Korra gives her a small smile, mimicking her position before slowly crawling forward, towards Asami. She finds herself unable to move, instead focusing on her friend’s mouth as it moves closer and closer to her own.   
  
“This okay?” Korra asks when she’s close enough to ask quietly, so only they can hear.   
  
Asami finds the strength to nod from somewhere deep inside her, and thank god she does because apaprently it’s all the encouragement Korra needs. Before she knows what’s happening, her friend’s mouth is on hers. Asami's body goes cold for just a second, goosebumps shooting down her arms. She feels like every piece of her is on edge before her body floods with heat.   
  
Her eye’s flutter closed as she leans into the kiss. Korra’s hand comes up to her face the way it had just moment’s before with Mako but Asami can barely process it, everything in her focused on the feeling of Korra’s lips, warm and soft, sliding against her own.   
  
She’s not sure how long it lasts — it feels both too long and too short — but Korra is pulling away and she’s left for a moment with her lips parted, her eyes closed. She’s jolted from her stupor by a punch in her shoulder, and she realizes that the kids around her are cheering. She offers them a weak smile, still unsure of exactly  _what_  had just happened.  
  
She looks up at Korra to see if she’s as equally stunned, but when she does she see’s her friend has returned to her seat next to her boyfirned, who’s arm is slung around her as she offers him a small smile.   
  
He leans down, his lips parting as he tilts his head, and Asami stands up just as Korra rises to meet him.   
  
She doesn’t excuse herself, just makes her way into the hall and into the bathroom. The door shuts loudly behind her. Her head thuds against the wood and she closes her eyes as they begin to burn with tears.   
  
_What was that?_  
  
She slides down against the door until she’s sitting, arms wrapped around her knees. Her heart is racing, pounding against her chest and in her ears, and she feels like she can’t breathe.   
  
_What the fuck was that?_ she asks herself again. All she can think of is the feeling of her best friend’s mouth on hers and how every inch of her felt like it was on fire and doused with cold water all at once.   
  
She feels like she’s going to be sick but makes no move for the toilet. Instead she buries her head in her hands and tries to steady her breathing. It doesn’t work, and before she knows it her ragged breaths have devolved into sobs. She breathes heavily through her nose, trying to stop, but they keep coming.   
  
_You’re just panicking,_  she reasons, but it does nothing to stop the ache in her chest nor the feeling that she can’t catch her breath.   
  
She pushes herself off the floor, willing her legs to take a few steps to the sink. She leans heavily against it, taking in her image for a second in the mirror before turning on the running water. She splashes her face, trying to stop the burning there, but it doesn’t work.  
  
_Knock knock._  
  
She startles. Someone is at the door.  
  
Three more knocks come in quick succession.   
  
“Asami?” a voice from the other side of the door calls, and Asami feels like all the air has left her lungs.  
  
_Korra._  
  
“Uh — just a minute,” she calls back. It’s too much at once — her voice wavers, and Korra twists the doorknob.   
  
_Thank god I locked it,_  she thinks, glancing up at the mirror. Her eyes are red, her cheeks streaked. “ _Shit,”_ she says under her breath. Korra tries the door again.  
  
“Asami, are you okay?”   
  
“Yeah,” she calls, her voice a little steadier. “Just drank a little too much.”   
  
It’s a stupid excuse because she’s only had one beer and Korra probably knows that, but it buys her a few more seconds. She splashes her face again, this time the water cold. It’s shocking, but when she looks up her eyes look just a little bit clearer and the streaks are gone from her cheeks, although they still burn bright red.  
  
She dries her face best she can with a hand towel, taking a deep breath as she does.   
  
_It’s just a panic attack_ , she tells herself again, but it’s been months since she’s had one of those and there was nothing here to trigger her.   
  
Her hand is shaking as she reaches for the doorknob, flipping the lock before twisting the knob and opening the door.   
  
Korra is across the hall, leaning on the wall. Her head snaps up as soon as Asami opens the door.   
  
“Are you okay?” she asks, quickly moving towards her friend. Asami flinches back, but Korra doesn’t seem to notice, reaching forward to put her hands on her friend’s shoulders.   
  
“Yeah, I just —” she starts, but she can’t seem to force the lie to come out when she’s looking at Korra, face-to-face. She’s only a foot away from her and she can’t help as her eyes flick down to Korra’s lips, which were pressed against hers only a few minutes ago. She feels her chest tightening again, and quickly tears her gaze away. “I’m not feeling so great,” she explains.  
  
Korra gives her a concerned look, but after a moment nods. “Do you want me to kick everyone out?”  
  
Asami shakes her head. “No, no, of course not.”   
  
“Okay,” Korra says, giving her a grim smile. “Do you want to get back out there?”   
  
Asami stops, considers, and nods. Better to be out there with company than in this hall dark with Korra, where all she can think of is grabbing her by the collar and pulling her back in where no one can see them.   
  
She shudders as the thought crosses her mind.  _Where the hell did that come from?_ she wonders.  _Korra is my friend._  
  
Korra smiles at her and her knees buckle.   
  
_Korra is my best friend_ , she reminds herself.   
  
She tries to shake off the thought as Korra slings her arm around her shoulder, leading her into the living room. The game of spin-the-bottle is still happening, but Korra leads her to the couch.  
  
“We’ll just… chill here for a little, okay?”   
  
Asami frowns. Korra is treating her like she’s fragile, and she hates it. She’s not, of course she’s not, she’s just…   
  
_Just what?_ she asks herself. She glances at Korra, She’s afraid to know the answer.   
  
Korra doesn’t leave Asami's side for the rest of the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this was a bit boring. I think it's necessary to understand just why Asami left in the first place to figure out how things are gonna go from here on out. Next chapter should return to present-time!
> 
> Thank you again for all the comments and kudos and especially thanks to everyone who's followed me on Tumblr and sent a message, they make my day every time! :)


	10. where we're going, I don't know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well apparently I've lost the ability to write chapters of any significant length -- my bad, friends. :( 
> 
> On that note, here's another short chapter!

_Asami tried to kiss me._

The car is quiet as they drive through the hills; the thought won’t stop racing through Korra’s mind.  
  
_Asami tried to kiss me._  
  
If she sits up straight enough she can see where Asami’s hands grip the wheels, her knuckles white. Korra doesn’t dare glance up at the rear-view mirror, where she could easily be caught staring.  
  
_Asami tried to kiss me, and now I can’t even look at her._  
  
Bolin lets out a loud yawn. He leans his head against Korra's shoulder, and Mako shoots a knowing grin at her from the front seat when Bolin is asleep within the minute. She tries to make herself return it, but (judging by the slight look of concern on Mako’s face) she’s pretty sure she’s unsuccessful.  
  
Korra closes her eyes too, letting out a deep sigh as her chin comes to rest against the top of Bolin’s head.  
  
She’s not sure if she nodded off or if the ride is really just _that_ short, but a minute or two later and Asami throws the car into park. Korra opens her eyes at the sound of the car door closing, and Bolin startles against her.  
  
“Sorry,” he mumbles sleepily as he pushes off of her. She watches as Asami strides quickly into the house, her chest tightening.  
  
_This isn’t going to be good,_ she decides.  
  
She’s almost to the door when her phone lets out a loud ring. Korra almost jumps at the sound, pulling it out of her pocket. _Mom_ , her phone flashes up at her. She quickly silences it, staring at it for a moment in uncertainty.  
  
Mako turns when he hears the sound, waiting for Korra in the doorway. He watches her as she looks down at her phone with a frown.  
  
She notices him staring a moment later, and straightens. “I, uh— have to take this,” she says, holding up her phone. He nods, his brow furrowed, and Korra worries for a second that he’s going to ask her if she’s all right.  
  
She’s not really sure _what’d_ she say.  
  
She doesn’t have to worry about it though when after a beat, Mako turns and follows the others inside. Korra lets out a deep breath before swiping to answer. “Mom, hey,” she says, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.  
  
“Korra?” her mom asks. “What’s wrong?”  
  
She lets out a shallow laugh. “How’d you know?”  
  
“Korra, a mother always knows,” the voice on the other end of the line admonishes.  
  
She doesn’t try to deny it any further (it’d be pointless, after all).“I uh— found out my ex is dating someone else today,” she admits, hoping her hushed tone isn’t too quiet for her mother to hear.  
  
That’s far from all that’s wrong, but she doesn’t want to go into more detail — _I’m on a trip with my best friends who don’t know I’m bisexual and just broke up with my girlfriend of three years. One of them I used to date and haven’t spoken to since we broke up and the other just tried to kiss me and is now not speaking to me._  
  
Yeah, she’s not so sure how that would sound. Her mother probably doesn’t want to worry about this while on vacation, after all, and Korra doesn’t want to be a bother.  
  
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry,” her mother coos, her voice full of sympathy. Korra feels her eyes filling with tears for the first time since she heard the news. She lets one, maybe two fall before sniffling, her hand coming up to swipe them away.  
  
“It’s okay,” she insists, but her choked-up voice betrays her.  
  
Her mother sighs. “It’s not. But it will be.”  
  
“I know,” Korra says quietly. “I know.” She takes a deep breath, steadying herself. “How’s your trip?” she asks, trying to steer the conversation towards something other than Korra’s love life, which is way messier right now than she even knows how to begin to explain.  
  
“Oh, you know your father — wanted to do _everything_ the first day, now he’s gone and pooped himself out. We’ve been taking it slow all week.”  
  
Korra laughs, picturing her mother and father bickering and teasing each other. She remembers road trips with her parents, nights spent in hotels watching Disney movies on demand. She hopes that she can go on another one with them soon.  
  
“How about you? How’s the beach?”  
  
“Gorgeous,” she replies honestly, because even if she’s been a little involved in her own troubles, she can’t deny that she’s enjoying the view. The days spent lounging in the sun aren’t so bad, either.  
  
“I’m glad to hear it,” she says, before letting out a deep sigh. “All right, it’s late and I just wanted to check in, so I’ll let you go. I love you, sweetie,” her mom’s voice says, the warmth and comfort she can hear just a little too far away to make a difference.  
  
“Love you too,” Korra says, and presses end.  
  
She sits on the stoop, staring out into the darkness. She can hear people moving inside, and she’s not quite sure she wants to join them yet. Not before she decides what to _do._  
  
But no matter how long she sits there, her mind remains blank, unable to move past the moment that Asami’s eyes darted down to her lips and _god,_ the look in them that made Korra feel like she couldn’t breathe, like she couldn’t move — something which she disproved just moments later by pulling away when her friend tried to kiss her.  
  
Korra groans, pushing herself off the step and heading into the house.  
  
Bolin is stirring a mug when Korra walks into the kitchen. He looks up and offers her a small smile. “Want some hot chocolate?”  
  
Korra looks around the open space of the kitchen — no one else is around, and she can see a light shining from underneath the door to her room.  
  
_Asami’s in hiding_ , she notes.  
  
“Sure.”  
  
She takes a seat at the counter as Bolin pours her a mug of milk. He sticks it in the microwave before hopping up on the counter across from Korra.  
  
“So, how’s your mom?”  
  
“She’s alright,” Korra answers, her eyes not leaving the microwave as she watches her mug spin inside.  
  
_1:22_  
  
“Isn’t it past midnight where she is?”  
  
Korra frowns. “Yeah, I guess it is. She’s just… worried about me.”  
  
“Are you giving her reason to be?” Bolin doesn’t hesitate to ask.  
  
_1:06_  
  
Korra shrugs. “No. Just, y’know, no service. I haven’t really had time to talk.”  
  
Bolin studies Korra for a moment, a wrinkle in his brow. “She must miss you.”  
  
Korra snorts. “Yeah, well. They would’ve stuck around for the summer if they’d missed me.”  
  
Bolin’s shoulders slump, his mouth turning down into a frown. Korra feels bad — she doesn’t want to bring down his mood. After all, she’s not usually like _this._ But everything is going so crazy right now and she can’t help it if she wants to wallow a little.  
  
“Well, I’m glad you came home,” he says, laying a hand on her shoulder. She offers him the best smile she can before returning to staring at the microwave. _:38,_ the small screen reads, and Korra gets lost counting how many times the plate spins around when Bolin breaks into her thoughts. “Speaking of — how are you holding up? You said you had some pretty rough stuff going on at school,” he asks, and the reminder that she had literally run away from her problems doesn’t really lift her spirit.  
  
She shrugs.  
  
“I’m okay,” she says, and thinks about stopping there, but Bolin’s eyes are wide and hopeful as he looks at her and she doesn’t want him to feel like she doesn’t want to share with him, like she’s shutting him out. She sighs. “That’s actually what my mom wanted to talk about. The whole… break-up, thing.”  
  
She swallows thickly, trying to push the thought of Kuvira and that _slime_ Bataar together out of her mind. It doesn’t really work, but she’s hoping her face doesn’t betray her disgust.  
  
“It’s good that she’s there for you,” is all he says, then the microwave beeps and he breaks out into a huge grin. “Hey, wait until you get a load of _this!”_  
  
Bolin hops down, turning to grab a box of cocoa mix from the cabinet before his back is to Korra, shielding whatever he’s doing in front of him. She hears him stirring the cocoa, then he spins around, a smile on his face.  
  
“It has a special ingredient,” he says, holding out the mug to her. Korra resists the urge to make a face at him and reaches out, taking the mug with a “thank you.”  
  
She takes a long sip. “ _Mmm,_ what is that?” she asks, and he shakes his head.  
  
“Nuh-uh. A chef never reveals his secrets,” he says, grin still wide. He pauses, taking a quick glance behind him before dropping his voice to a whisper. “Well, actually, since you asked… I just put a splash of coffee creamer in it — makes it taste like marshmallows!”  
  
Korra laughs, and is struck with the image of Bolin as a child, always making messes in the kitchen with his creations. Mako would always get annoyed — he was the one stuck cleaning up, after all — but Korra was more than happy to be the taste tester for the younger boy’s experiments.  
  
Now he’s older, _so much_ older, and Korra feels a wave of guilt washing over her. Even if he seemed like the same kid, Bolin had done a lot of growing up while she was gone. And she wasn’t there for him. She’s always felt that Bolin was the little brother she never had, and she had let him down.  
  
_"When you left, you didn't just hurt me. You hurt Bolin, too,”_ she hears Mako say in her head.  
  
They sit side by side, enjoying the rest of their cocoa together in silence. When Korra stands to leave, she pauses to wrap her arms around Bolin. The surprise only lasts a moment before he’s enveloping her back, and she lets out a deep breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.  
  
“I’m glad I came home too,” she says.  
  
//  
  
Asami is already in her pajamas when Korra enters the room. She sits crosslegged on her bed, staring intently at her phone, a frown settled deep into her face as her fingers pad at the touch screen. Korra looks at her for a long beat, waiting for her friend to acknowledge her, but it doesn’t come.  
  
She sighs, turning to grab her shorts out of her bag before heading into the bathroom.  
  
She brushes her teeth first, getting lost in watching her hand as it moves up and down in the mirror. It had only been twelve hours since she last stood in front of her reflection, watching herself get ready for the day, and yet so many things had changed.  
  
_Kuvira is dating Bataar._  
  
_I have a crush on my best friend._  
  
_She just tried to kiss me._  
  
Korra splashes cold water on her face, washing the toothpaste out of the corners of her lips.  
  
_Why did you have to go and make things super awkward by pulling away?_ she asks herself. She takes a good long look at herself in the mirror, searching her own eyes for at least a hint of an answer; she lets out a deep sigh when one doesn’t come to her.  
  
_Would it have been any less awkward if I didn’t?_  
  
It hadn’t felt right, she knew that. Asami wasn’t acting like herself, she’d just lost her dad...  
  
_And she tried to kiss me_.  
  
Yes, that was definitely very unlike her best friend. She’d never shown any interest in girls, let alone Korra.  
  
_Right_?  
  
Another long beat passes, and Korra rolls her eyes at her reflection. _You’re useless_ , she chides herself.  
  
She slips out of her shorts, still sandy from laying on the beach with Asami just an hour before, and slides a pair of pajama pants on.  
  
She pauses at the door — she hears footsteps inside. When she enters, Asami is standing, just about to get into her bed. She doesn’t turn at the sound of the door opening, and Korra pauses for an awkward moment and watches her friend with a frown.  
  
“Turn off the light whenever you’re ready,” Asami says as she climbs under the covers, her eyes not meeting Korra’s.  
  
Korra drags her feet as she makes her way into her own bed. She slides under the blanket, shivering at how cold her sheets are.  
  
“Goodnight,” Korra says, watching as her friend turns her back before she reaches and clicks off the lamp.  
  
She makes it for nearly a minute in the silence.  
  
“Look, Asami —” Korra starts, but the words are barely out of her mouth when Asami cuts her off.  
  
“We don’t have to talk about it,” she says shortly. Korra strains her eyes for any glimpse of her friend in the dark, but her eyes haven’t quiet adjusted.  
  
She swallows, her throat unusually tight. “You’re right, we don’t.” Korra waits for Asami to say something. After a minute, she gives up. “I just… I really don’t want things to be weird between us.”  
  
Asami lets out a dry laugh. Korra’s stomach twists. “How can they not be? I’m a _mess_.”  
  
“I don’t care about that.” She shakes her head, even though she knows the other girl can’t see her.  
  
Asami doesn’t respond.  
  
Korra’s voice is quiet, but firm. “We said we have until the end of summer, and I meant it. I’m here for you, Asami.” She can barely make out Asami’s shoulders rising and falling in the moonlight. “Whatever you need — and especially a shoulder to cry on. I’m here for you.”  
  
She doesn’t mention the kiss-that-wasn't — how can she? Asami _clearly_ regrets it, and she doesn’t want to make her feel any worse by bringing it up again.  
  
_She’s just lashing out... in all sorts of weird ways._  
  
Korra almost gives up on Asami responding when she hears a sniffle. “Thanks,” Asami says a moment later, and Korra can hear how her voice is thick with tears.  
  
She hesitates — she doesn’t want to push the boundaries here. But Asami lets out a shuddering breath, and she can’t stand to listen to her friend crying from a distance again. Korra throws back her covers, and its just two quick steps before she’s at the side of Asami’s bed. Her friend turns, scooting to the other side of the bed to make room for her. Still, she stops and asks — “is this okay?” — waiting for Asami to nod before sliding into the bed next to her.  
  
Asami wastes no time in tucking into Korra’s body, her head coming to rest in the crook between her arm and her side. Korra’s hand lands on Asami’s torso, her fingers resting on the hem of her shirt. Asami's tears are warm on the fabric of Korra’s tee-shirt, and she squeezes her friend a little tighter.  
  
She feels Asami’s hand ball into her shirt as she cries, and Korra does her best to comfort her, rubbing circles into her back until she’s quiet. She almost thinks her friend has fallen asleep when she hears her whisper.  
  
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she says into the darkness.  
  
Korra’s not sure if she’s supposed to respond. She just hugs the girl a little tighter, and hopes that it’s enough to hold her together. 


	11. you're gonna take me back to a time when I loved and I meant it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

_They’re sitting in a circle in Opal’s living room. Korra sits next to her new friend, laughing at something someone — was it Kuvira? just said._

_“Let’s liven this party up!” someone shouts._  
  
_She watches the bottle spin around the circle, one, two, three times before it’s pointing at her. She looks up, and Kuvira is smiling lowly at her. God, she’s missed that smirk.  
  
The kiss isn’t long enough, just a second, before the other girl is pulling back — no, scratch that, pushing Korra away. Her eyes snap open. _  
  
_Her best friend sits before her, eyesbrows furrowed and mouth agape. Her hand hovers at her mouth for a moment before she scowls, clenching it into a fist. “Korra,” she says, and she watches as green eyes darken._  
  
_“Asami, wait, I —” she stutters out, but it’s too late. Asami is turning and walking away._  
  
_Korra follows her, they make it to the hall when Asami raises her hand, pointing towards the door._  
  
_“Get out,” she says, but it’s not her voice Korra hears. Its Hiroshi’s, and Korra spins to find him standing behind her._  
  
_“Get out of my house!” he shouts, taking a step towards her. “Get away from my daughter!”_  
  
_He shoves her, and she feels her back collide with hard wood, breaking beneath her as she falls back, and --_  
  
Korra jolts awake. She nearly bolts out of bed, but there’s something weighing her down. She takes a breath, two, then exhales slowly through her nose.  
  
She becomes aware all at once of the body pressing against her.  
  
Asami hasn’t moved since the night before — no, scratch that, she’d somehow gotten closer. Her leg is curled around Korra’s, her arm across her chest, hand gently resting on the pillow next to Korra’s head. If she concentrates, she swears she can feel the tips of Asami’s fingers where they brush against her neck.  
  
She takes as deep of a breath as she can without disturbing the girl sleeping on her chest, wondering what exactly she should do. Crawling into bed with Asami had felt so right last night when she needed comfort, but _now?_  
  
_Should I try to leave?_ she wonders, but _that’s_ not really an option is it? _Unless Asami is the heaviest sleeper in the world._  
  
_No. Just… pretend to be asleep_ , she decides. She closes her eyes, letting herself settle back into the pillow, trying to ignore the fact that her bare leg is currently entwined with Asami’s or just how hot it is under the blankets with the girl. _Just... be quiet_.  
  
She nearly jumps out of her skin five seconds later when a door bangs open outside of their room.  
  
“It’s my birthday, bitches!”  
  
Her eyes fly open as Asami tilts her head back, blinking as she wakes up. She freezes when she sees Korra looking back down at her.  
  
Asami smiles. “Good morning,” she says. Her voice is raspy, hoarse with sleep, and Korra swallows.  
  
“Hi,” she says.  
  
Neither one of them move for a few seconds, until their door flies open.  
  
“Korra, Asami, _wake up!_ It’s— it’s, uh — sorry,” Wu stands in the doorway, eyes confused as he looks at Korra’s empty bed, back to the twin the girl’s are sharing.  
  
Asami moves first, sitting up with a wide smile. “Happy birthday!”  
  
Wu grins, his confusion forgotten. “Why thank you, m’lady. Would either of you like to join me for a morning swim?”  
  
Asami looks back at Korra, who fakes a yawn. “Thanks, but I think we need some coffee and some breakfast first.”  
  
Wu frowns, but only for a moment before he’s turning on his heal. “Mako, Bolin!” Korra hears him shout before the telltale clatter of the ladder falling from the attic rings out in the hall.  
  
Asami is pushing herself out of the bed, stretching as she yawns. Korra follows suit, making her way over to the mirror and grimacing when she sees her reflection.  
  
“Jesus,” she says under her breath, hand coming up to try to comb through the mess that is her hair. She hears Asami laugh from behind her, and catches her eye in the mirror. Asami offers her a soft smile, and Korra returns it before her hand gets caught in a particularly bad knot and she scowls.  
  
“Thank you,” Asami says a moment later. Korra looks up at her in the mirror, confused. “For last night,” she clarifies.  
  
“Any time,” Korra says, even though she doesn’t really understand what Asami is thanking her for. She hadn’t done anything, not _really._ Not anything to deserve the good mood Asami is in, how perfect everything seems this morning. “I’m gonna take a shower,” she says, and she can feel Asami’s eyes following her as she turns and heads for the bathroom.  
  
Her phone buzzes just before she’s about to step into the shower. It’s a text from Opal.  
  
_Mom and aunt are heading into the city to. Party tonight?_  
  
Korra smiles. Opal is really making an effort to be friends. And a party _does_ sound really fun, but…  
  
_Can’t,_ she writes back. _It’s Wu’s birthday._  
  
She picks at her stray eyebrow hairs until she gets a response.  
  
_Even better. We’ll make it a surprise party!_  
  
Korra laughs. It sounds ridiculous, but then she considers it for a moment and — _could that actually work?_ Wu has mentioned on several occasions that he loves a good party, even though Korra has a sneaking suspicion he’s never actually been invited to one.  
  
_You know, that just might work. Can you stop by in a bit for some party favors?_  
  
_Hell yes._  
  
//  
  
She throws on a shorts and a tank-top, sweating in the heat even though she’s just showered.  
  
_Yuck,_ she thinks. _I wouldn’t have come on this trip if I had known it was going to be hot._ It’s not true, but it doesn’t change the way Korra huffs as she leaves the room. She stops when she reaches the kitchen, where Asami is at the sink, washing dishes. She doesn’t see the boys.  
  
_They must have gone down to the beach._  
  
“Hey,” she calls. She doesn’t mean to scare Asami, but her friend still jumps slightly at the noise.  
  
“How was your shower?” Asami asks, pretending as if Korra hadn’t just spooked her. Korra lets it slide with a smile.  
  
“Good,” she says. “Opal texted me — she’s having a party tonight, and wants to turn it into a surprise party for Wu.”  
  
“He’ll love that.”  
  
“That’s what I thought,” Korra nods. Asami sends her a warm smile. “What?” she asks, laughing.  
  
“Nothing. You just... seem to have a soft spot for the kid.”  
  
Korra shrugs. “I guess. I just find it kind of weird that his parents sent him off with a bunch of strangers for his 18th birthday, you know?”  
  
Asami nods. “I agree. It’s kind of like they’re just throwing money at him.” She’s quiet for a moment. “My dad never did that sort of thing even though he definitely had the funds.”  
  
Korra gives her a small smile. “He really loved you.”  
  
Asami lets out a long breath. “I know,” she says after a moment. She turns off the sink, turning to face Korra.  
  
Korra shifts nervously under her gaze. “I was going to bake Wu a cake. Wanna join?”  
  
Asami scoffs. “In this heat?”  
  
Korra laughs. “True, I can’t blame you.” Asami laughs with her, and they stand smiling at each other for just a few moments before Asami drops her gaze, cheeks tinting pink.  
  
“I’m going to go try to get some reading done outside. Try not to burn the house down,” Asami says, and Korra shoots her a glare. Asami chuckles as she leaves the kitchen, and Korra finds herself smiling for a few minutes after she’s gone despite her confusion at the girl’s change in mood.  
  
She doesn’t burn the house down, though she _did_ struggle a little with cracking the eggs and _might_ have almost let the cake get a little too brown — she’s sure it’ll taste fine, in the end, or as fine as it _can_ coated in the sugar-icing Wu picked out. Just as she’s finishing the icing she gets a text from Opal letting her know that she’s on her way to pick up the cake. Korra puts the finishing touches — sprinkles, as if this thing wasn’t going to be sweet enough — before wrapping it in plastic wrap.  
  
She gets a text from Mako warning her that Wu is on his way up just as she sees Opal pull into the driveway.  
  
_Perfect timing_ , she thinks, running to the liquor cabinet to grab a bottle of wine before scooping up the plate and heading for the door. She swings it open just as Opal is about to knock.  
  
“Hey!” she says. “We have to make this fast, Wu is heading up from the beach. I baked this!”  
  
Opal looks confused as Korra hands her the plate and bottle. “Oh. Is this it?”  
  
Korra frowns. “What do you mean, this is it? That took me like an hour!”  
  
“No, it’s great, I just meant…” She presses her lips together. “Korra, how many people do you think are coming to this party?”  
  
“Oh. I dunno, like a dozen?” she shrugs.  
  
Opal grimaces. “Uh...”  
  
“ _Opal._ How many?!”  
  
She forces a smile. “Well you see we kind of throw these parties every year, and I think they’ve gotten a bit… popular?”  
  
“Oh Jesus,” Korra says, glancing behind her to where she can see Wu on the deck. He’s stopped to talk to Asami, but she’s not sure how long that will stall him before he comes inside. She steps outside and closes the door, lowering her voice. “Wait, what did you think I was talking about when I said party favors?”  
  
Opal shrugs, grinning sheepishly.  
  
She groans. “The kid is _just_ turning eighteen. Let’s try not to corrupt him for at least a _little_ longer?” Korra sighs. “Listen, can you get them all to hide and jump out and say ‘surprise' when the kid walks through the door?”  
  
Opal thinks for a moment, then nods. “Probably.”  
  
“Then I don’t care, he’ll probably love it.”  
  
Opal grins. She hears the sliding glass door open inside, and motions to Opal that she’ll text her later. The girl flashes her a thumbs up before getting back into her car.  
  
“Mmm, smells _good_ in here!” Wu says when she walks in. He’s poking his head in the fridge, looking for the source of the smell.  
  
Korra feigns innocence. “Oh, yeah, I just made some — oatmeal,” she finishes lamely, looking at the empty bowls in the sink.  
  
“Mhm,” the boy says, stepping on his tip-toes to peek into the microwave as he throws it open. He frowns when there is nothing inside. He takes a step to the right, quickly glancing into the oven before turning to Korra with his arms crossed. “Where did you put it?”  
  
“ _That_ is something you’re going to have to wait and find out,” she says with a shrug.  
  
Wu pouts.  
  
“Will you at least make me some oatmeal?”  
  
Korra rolls her eyes, turning to get another bowl from the cabinet.  
  
//  
  
“I want to go to the Cheesecake Factory,” Wu announces around four. He’s spent most of the afternoon out in the sun, tanning next to Asami.  
  
Korra frowns. “But I made you a cake.”  
  
Wu laughs. “They make things _other_ than cheesecake, silly.”  
  
//  
  
Korra ends up getting something called a Chicken Costoletta and it’s the most delicious thing she’s eaten in her entire life. Mako gets the waiters to sing Happy Birthday to Wu, and the kid looks like he might cry.  
  
//  
  
They head over to Opal’s on the way home, claiming that the Beifong’s invited them over for drinks. Korra shoots Opal a five-minute-warning text. She doesn’t respond, but when they pull up Korra is happy to see they’ve done a good job of hiding — no cars are in the driveway, and not a sound is coming from the house as they approach the front door.  
  
Wu knocks before spotting a doorbell, and rings that a few times for good measure.  
  
“Come in!” Opal’s voice shouts from inside. Wu opens the door to an empty living room. He takes a few steps forward, before turning around to face the others with a frown.  
  
Just as he turns away, shouts of “surprise!” and “happy birthday!” fill the room, and Wu spins around, astonished. His eyes scan the crowd that’s emerged, then he lets out a shaky laugh before grinning, clapping his hands together.  
  
“You guys!” he shouts, turning to them with his arms extended. “I had no idea!” he rushes forward, pulling them into a semi-awkward group hug.  
  
Opal walks over and wishes him a happy birthday. He thanks her for her hospitality.  
  
“Come on, I’ll introduce you around,” she says, grabbing him by the arm before he has a chance to say no.  
  
Korra watches him shake the hands of Opal’s friend. _Hopefully he’ll be able to make a few of his own tonight, Korra thinks._  
  
“Hey,” Mako says, walking up to her. “This was really nice of you guys.”  
  
Korra shrugs. “I don’t know, I just wanted him to have _something_ for his birthday.”  
  
Mako nods. “Me too. I actually uh… got him a present,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
Korra laughs, shocked. “Really? Dare I ask what it is?”  
  
Mako chuckles, but doesn’t answer. Instead he looks around the room, frowning after a moment. “Where’d Asami go?”  
  
Korra looks around, surprised she hadn’t noticed the girl’s disappearance. She’s been _way_ too tuned into Asami lately; the other girl could barely move without Korra taking notice.  
  
“I don’t know,” she says. “I’ll go look.”  
  
She makes it halfway to the kitchen before Wu stops her in the hall.  
  
He grins. “Korra!”  
  
“Having fun?” she asks when she gets near him.  
  
Wu nods, looking around at the room full of people. “Yeah. It’s pretty cool, even if I don’t really know anyone here.”  
  
“You know us,” she says, shrugging. Just then, Asami and Bolin emerge from the kitchen, drinks in hand. They make their way into the living room, and Korra almost moves to follow when Wu speaks up.  
  
“You know you guys didn’t have to do all this for me,” he says quietly. “I know we’re not really friends.”  
  
“Wu, if we’re not friends, why would we throw you a party?” she asks, and sure it’s stretching the truth a _little_ since they weren’t exactly throwing the party _for him_ , but still, the kid looks so sad, and it’s worth it when he smiles up at her.  
  
“Yeah,” he shrugs, smile spreading into a grin. “I guess that’s true.”  
  
“C’mon,” she says, nudging him in the shoulder. “I think it’s time for cake.”  
  
His eyes light up. “My funfetti?!”  
  
//  
  
They sing happy birthday to him in the kitchen, just Mako, Bolin, Korra and Asami.  
  
“A slice for you,” Bolin says as he hands Mako a plate. “And one for _me.”_ His knife lands a little further out this time, and a large hunk of cake falls. Asami asks for a small piece, and Korra takes the same.  
  
Wu insists on taking a selfie with them. Bolin nails Mako in the face with a big glob of icing a second before Wu snaps the picture.  
  
Korra is watching Wu dance in the middle of the living room when Asami leans on the wall next to her. When Korra turns to face her she has a smile on her face, and Korra tries not to blush.  
  
“What?” she asks. Asami just shrugs.  
  
She glances towards the door. “Wanna get some fresh air?”  
  
Korra swallows, suddenly unsure of herself and where she stands with Asami. Thing were confusing, and the girl had done a complete 180 in the past twenty-four hours — from trying to _kiss_ her, to being mad at her, to treating her like their friendship had never even changed. She’s afraid of what comes next.  
  
Still, Asami looks hopeful as she smiles softly at her, and Korra can’t help but nod. Asami’s hand reaches for hers, and Korra doesn’t hesitate to grab it.  
  
The air is cooler outside tonight than it has been the past week, and Korra lets out a small shiver when a gust of wind blows. There aren’t many lights outside, but the moon is either full or a day away from it, and the sand practically glows white from the brightness of it.  
  
The walk about halfway down the beach before stopping. They stand in silence for a moment, hands still together. Korra digs her toes in the sand, relishing the cool compact feeling between her toes.  
  
“Want to go for a swim?” Asami asks, her voice quiet next to Korra.  
  
Korra tries not to shiver at the sound of it. “Uh— now?”  
  
“Why? Are you scared of the dark?” Asami teases. Korra fidgets at her tone.  
  
“No, of course not.”  
  
“Good. Come on.” Asami pulls her hand and starts heading towards the water, and Korra doesn’t see any point in arguing.  
  
Korra hadn’t thought to bring her bathing suit, but she has a feeling mentioning this to Asami wouldn’t be a deterrent at all at this point. Instead, she says nothing as Asami takes off her shirt, revealing a bikini. She does the same, glad she at least decided to wear a sports bra today.  
  
The water isn’t as cool as she’s expecting, and she follows Asami into it with ease. They go until the water is up to Korra’s chest, their hands separating as they begin to float apart. Their fingertips stay touching as they float on their backs, looking up at the stars, and Korra tries her best to remember the constellations she had pointed out to Asami the other night.  
  
“Which one is your favorite?” Asami asks, and Korra doesn’t have to guess at what she’s thinking about.  
  
“Uh— Scorpius?” she says. Asami bursts out laughing.  
  
“You don’t sound sure,” she says. “Which one is that?”  
  
Korra sighs. “To be honest, I have no idea. It was the only name I remembered.”  
  
Asami laughs again, and this time Korra joins her. They settle into silence after a moment. A wave rocks against them, and Korra grabs Asami’s hand a little tighter to make sure she doesn’t float away.  
  
“I’m sorry about last night,” Asami says out of no where. Korra’s chest tightens— she _knew_ things weren’t as settled as Asami had made them seem all day. Korra straightens, her feet coming down to touch the sand. They’ve floated a little deeper, her body submerged from the neck down.  
  
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” she says, hoping her voice expresses her sincerity. She can see Asami frown in the moonlight.  
  
“I just... really thought I might’ve messed things up between us,” she admits quietly, turning to face Korra. The height difference is obvious now, the tops of Asami’s shoulders sticking out of the water. It’s the first that she’s even hinted at talking about the kiss-that-wasn’t, and Korra’s mouth goes dry.  
  
“I’m really happy you’re here,” Asami says softly, her eyes searching Korra’s face.  
  
Korra doesn’t think.  
  
For once in her life her mind is completely, gloriously blank. She doesn’t stop to wonder if her friends can see them out here in the dark water or what they would think if they could. She doesn’t stop to consider whether or not this will ruin her still fragile friendship with Asami, or if this is all way too soon after breaking up with her girlfriend of three years.  
  
She doesn’t count the seconds between when Asami's eyes drop to Korra’s mouth and when her teeth bite into her lip, doesn’t take note of how the girl’s eyes flutter closed just a few seconds later, lips parting. She doesn’t calculate the distance between them, closing slowly as she leans in.  
  
Without a thought, Korra presses her lips into Asami’s under the stars, and she feels as if she could be floating in the middle of the ocean. Everything drops out from underneath her as her arms reach up to link around Asami’s shoulders, pulling herself slightly out of the water, her toes barely scraping the sand. 


	12. then we kiss

Asami’s mouth is warm and soft against her own and Korra wants to cherish it, to enjoy every second of the pressure of Asami there against her lips for however long it’ll last before the other girl will surely pull away. She could swear her heart has stopped beating, but her blood rushes through her all the same, making her dizzy and breathless. She doesn’t dare pause for air.  
  
She registers that Asami is getting closer now, her body nearly flush against Korra’s in the water. She almost considers that it’s likely a wave pushing them nearer when Asami tilts her head, her mouth sliding against Korra’s before she leans up and into the kiss. Asami’s arms circle around her torso, and Korra has to link her own behind Asami’s head to stay steady, the extra few inches lifting her out of her depth.  
  
Korra holds tight. She doesn’t want to move, doesn’t want to float away, doesn’t want this moment to end, even though she can feel Asami’s lips slowing against her own.  
  
They pull apart, gradually. Even as she pulls away, Korra feels like she’s chasing Asami, their noses brushing in a way that makes a shudder course down her back, and she doesn’t think it’s from the cold of the ocean on a summer night. She pauses for a moment when she sees that Asami’s face is not at all how it was in her dream last night, betrayed and confused and angry. Instead, her eyelids are still half closed, and what little she can see of the green eyes beneath are glossy, unfocused as they don’t move from Korra’s lips.  
  
“Korra?” the girl says softly, except unlike Korra's dream, this time her name seems to fall out as a question on Asami’s breath. She wants to respond to Asami, to give her some reassurance, but instead she blinks slowly, trying to gather her thoughts.  
  
Before she can, Asami’s fist tighetens where it’s threaded through Korra’s hair. _When did that happen?_ Korra has just enough time to think before Asami is pulling her back in.  
  
This time they don’t start out slow. Asami’s hand falls from her hair to the back of her neck, pulling Korra forward as their mouths crash together. Asami lets out a small noise — a whimper or a moan — Korra can’t tell which. Whichever it is, it sets Korra on fire.  
  
Asami’s tongue slides between her lips. The touch is electric; a small explosion with each stroke as she moves in time with the waves lapping against their backs. Her whole body is in tune with the ocean, her heart beat thrumming in her chest to the motion of the current beneath their feet, the cold water soothing against her burning skin. She’s floating free in the water, the only thing anchoring her is Asami, whose leg is sliding around her own, their stomachs pressing together, skin against skin and —  
  
“Korra? Asami?” a voice calls from the deck. Before she has time to process what’s happening, she’s pushing herself away from Asami, using the water to easily get a little distance between the two. She squints towards the house, trying to make out whoever is calling them. She can’t see anything, and Korra’s body suddenly feels like ice in the cool water.  
  
_Did they see us?_ She glances at Asami, expecting to see a similar panic in the girl’s eyes, but instead they’re still focused on her, only slightly wider than usual.  
  
“We’re in the water,” she calls, her voice as loud as she can manage with the shaky breath Asami had left her with.  
  
“Okay,” the voice calls back. “Just remember the buddy system!” She recognizes him then — Bolin, of course, who else would come looking for them?  
  
She turns back to Asami slowly, unsure of where they will pick up. The moment was certainly interruptted, that’s for sure, any desire Korra had quickly overtaken by the panic of being discovered. She can’t read Asami’s face, even though it’s perfectly illuminated by the moonlight.  
  
Asami watches Korra, brows slightly furrowed for a minute before she gives her friend a tight smile. “We should get out of the water,” she says, voice not betraying any emotion. “You’re starting to turn blue.”  
  
Korra realizes now that she’s shivering, despite the fact that it’s a warm summer night. Before she has time to disagree, Asami is grabbing her hand, pulling her the few feet to shallower water until her feet can touch the ground. Her teeth are clattering by the time they reach the beach, and Asami frowns as she looks around.  
  
“I forgot my towel,” she notes, and Korra doesn’t point out that they hadn’t even come out here to swim in the first place. She thinks for a second how ridiculous she must look, in her wet underwear, lips blue and shoulders shaking.  
  
_Good thing no one is around to see_ , she notes, following Asami as she turns towards the house. Sand clings to her wet feet as she walks. She glances nervously up at the deck, where Bolin had stood just moments earlier. She checks behind her, to see if the water (or whatever is in it) is visible from this distance — it isn’t, and she feels a wave of relief come over her.  
  
The deck is not far from the beach and they don’t speak as they make their way to it. Asami rushes up the stairs — by the time Korra catches up, she’s pulling a large beach towel from her bag.  
  
“Here,” she says, walking up to Korra as she opens the towel. She wraps it around Korra’s frame, hands rubbing up and down her arms a few times — Korra isn’t sure if she’s trying to dry her or warm her, but she’s grateful for the other girl’s touch.  
  
“Thanks,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper as she looks up at her friend. She’s close enough to see the water droplets gathering on Asami’s eyelashes as they fall from her wet hair, and she swallows, hard. She’s _so_ _close,_ and Korra feels a tug in her stomach, urging her to pull the other girl even closer. _This is your best friend,_ she reminds herself. Instead, she takes a step back, looking over at the screen door.  
  
“Better?” Asami asks, apparently not phased by Korra’s distance. Korra nods, not trusting her voice not to shake from the cold or something else entirely. Asami watches the girl shiver, and moves to take a step forward, maybe to hug her or something else, but Korra doesn’t wait to find out, dropping her gaze.  
  
Asami pauses. “Are you alright?” she asks, her tone much softer with just a hint of _something_ Korra can’t quite place. She nods again, and Asami crosses her arms, studying her for a second before letting out a soft sigh. “Do you… wanna talk about it?”  
  
The question is even quiet, and Korra almost has to strain to hear it. She looks back up at Asami, who is biting her lip, uncertain as she watches her friend.  
  
“I guess we should,” Korra finally says. Asami nods, but before she can say anything they’re interrupted, once again, by a booming voice as the sliding door is thrown open.  
  
“It’s _bonfire_ time, people!”  
  
It’s Bolin again, except this time Korra can see him clearly. Clearly _drunk_ , that is. He has a goofy smile on his face, Opal next to him with her arm wrapped around his. She’s grinning too, though she seems much more together than her companion.  
  
“Asami, _Korra!”_ he shouts. “I’ve missed you.”  
  
Asami chuckles, taking a step away from Korra. “You too, Bolin.”  
  
“I’m going to make a fire,” he announces again. “Want to help?”  
  
Korra glances at Asami, just in time to see her dart her eyes away from Korra’s face. Asami clears her throat. “Well, you _do_ seem like you might need it.”  
  
They walk down the stairs back into the sand; Korra tries her best not to stare as they walk away. She almost forgets Opal is there when she speaks.  
  
“Having fun?” she asks, stepping up behind Korra.  
  
Korra tears her gaze away. “Yeah — it’s a great party.”  
  
Opal gives her a wry smile. “Haven’t seen you all night.” She quirks her eyebrow. “ Asami either, for that matter.”  
  
Korra lets out a dry laugh. “We needed to catch up.”  
  
“Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?” Opal says.  
  
Korra gives her a sharp look.  
  
Opal takes a few steps until she’s beside Korra. Now that her eyes are adjusting, she can see Asami and Bolin pulling from stacks of wood not far down the beach. “Sorry. What I meant to say was if you ever want to talk, I’ll listen. I won’t ask questions, and I won’t tell anyone anything.”  
  
Korra sighs. She supposes at this point she’s trusted Opal with enough information — what’s a little more? Trust is trust. “I kissed her.”  
  
Opal’s eyebrows shoot up. “Oh, wow, I didn’t guess this was _that_ far along. Did she kiss you back?”  
  
Korra pauses for a moment, then nods. Opal frowns. “Then what’s your problem?”  
  
Korra sighs. So many things could go wrong here, she doesn’t know which to name. Her best friend is spiraling after the loss of her father, and she’s taking advantage of that. None of her friends know she’s bisexual, including Asami, and that feels a little shady now. They’re not even sure they’re going to stay _friends_ after the summer — does she really want to get involved in _whatever_ is developing between them?  
  
_Kuvira’s moved on_ , she reminds herself. But that doesn’t really make a difference. She doesn’t want to lose Asami as it _is —_ why would she want to make things any more complicated to affect that?  
  
“She’s my best friend,” Korra settles on.  
  
Opal rolls her eyes. “Please. Who hasn’t made out with their best friend?”  
  
“It was more than that—” Korra starts, then pauses. “I mean… I think it was?”  
  
“Maybe Asami just… wants to have some fun? She’s in her twenties, at a beach house for a month with her hot best friend who, y’know, seems like she might be down,” Opal says, snorting at the end while she jabs Korra with her elbow.  
  
Korra rubs at the spot, but can’t help but laugh at Opal’s antics.  
  
Opal laughs for a second, before growing serious. “Really,” she says. “You’re overthinking this. You deserve some fun. Why not Asami?”  
  
Korra frowns. “Her dad just died. She’s just… going through something. And she’s my best friend, and we’re already not on steady ground. What if she changes her mind, what if this ruins it?” the words just start flowing out, but Opal stops her with a hand on her shoulder.  
  
“Asami is an adult,” Opal reminds her. “She can make her own decisions. I think you should go for it. Just… y’know, be respectful or whatever and you’ll be fine.”  
  
Korra lets out a long breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. “Yeah, I guess.”  
  
“Opal?” a guy calls from the door. “There’s been a slight accident involving the vase on the —”  
  
Opal groans. “Shit. Of course.” She looks back at Korra. “I’ll go take care of that. Why don’t you go help those two out?” she says, nodding towards the spot where Bolin is crouched in front of the logs, blowing on embers that just don’t want to catch.  
  
Korra shakes her head, and begins down the steps.  
  
“Bolin, have you ever made a fire before?” she hears Asami ask, and can’t help but chuckle. The girl turns at the sound, and she stares at Korra for a moment before giving her a small smile.  
  
Bolin huffs. “Asami, you’ve _seen_ me make a fire before.”  
  
She shrugs. “Just checking.” Asami walks up and points at one of the logs. “You have to move that one over —”  
  
Bolin slaps her hand down. “No way!” he says. “That was totally a challenge. You said I couldn’t do it, so now I have to do it myself.”  
  
Korra laughs. “Oh boy.” She looks around. “I’m going to go find some seating.”  
  
“I’ll come with.” Asami’s long strides quickly catch up with her before she has a chance to argue. Not that she was sure she even wanted to.  
  
They walk in silence for the most part, looking for pieces of driftwood. Korra can feel Asami’s eyes on her, but doesn’t turn.  
  
_She’s an adult_ , she hears Opal remind her in her thoughts.  
  
_And she sure does seem interested,_ she can’t help but think. It’s not like it was the first time the idea had occurred to her, but this was the first time she had taken it seriously. They had kissed, _once_ , but they were both drunk and it was a game of spin-the-bottle. It hadn’t been a big deal.  
  
Korra frowns. _Or had it?_ Her memories were hazy from that night, but she can’t help but remember the look on Asami’s face after their lips had parted that night years ago, the same one that she had seen earlier that night in the water.  
  
“What about this one?” Asami says, pointing to a long stretch of wood. “Seems sturdy enough.” She sits, just to make sure, grinning when it easily supports her weight. She taps the log next to her, and Korra sits, making sure to keep her distance.  
  
They sit in silence for another few seconds, Korra lost in her thoughts, before Asami nudges her shoulder. When Korra looks at her, Asami’s eyes are on the sky, her hand pointing straight ahead. “Scorpius,” she points out.  
  
Korra breaks out into a grin, laughing as she finds the cluster of stars Asami is pointing to. “Wow, my favorite.”  
  
“Yes!” someone shouts in the distance, and Korra can only assume its Bolin. She rolls her eyes.  
  
“Sounds like he got it. Let’s get back before he tries to come and find us and it goes out,” she says.  
  
The log isn’t as heavy as it looks, mostly hollow wood, and they’re back within a few minutes. A small but sturdy fire is burning in the sand. They set the log down near the fire, and Korra takes a seat right near the end.  
  
Bolin rubs his hands together, happy with his creation. “All right!” he grins up at them. “Ladies, I am going to go get us some beverages and let everyone know that the bonfire is a _success!”_  
  
It’s silent except for the waves as they watch Bolin climb back up the stairs.  
  
Korra looks at Asami for a moment, all long legs and shorts in the light of the fire, and decides Opal might be right after all. She opens up her towel and nods to the spot on the log next to her. Asami raises her eyebrows, but Korra just shrugs. “You never dried off,” she prompts.  
  
A small smile spreads across Asami’s face. Her legs brush against Korra’s as she sits down, and the look in her eye when she turns and thanks Korra makes her think it wasn’t an accident.  
  
Bolin comes back with freshly-made daiquiris, Opal, and a few of her friends. Most of them are older than Korra, but she doesn’t mind. She laughs at their jokes and maybe adds a couple of comments here and there — mostly to keep Bolin’s storytelling in check — but for the most part she’s distracted by the way Asami leans into her, just far enough so she can lean her chin on the top of her head.  
  
Asami’s hand is on her knee, and just when Korra thinks she can forget about it Asami will shift, brushing against her leg the slightest bit and her heart races a just a little harder.  
  
_Calm down,_ she has to remind herself a few times. _She’s your best friend_.  
  
Still, she can’t help the way her body tenses when Asami’s arm drops from her shoulder and her fingers settle against Korra’s bare ribs. She relaxes after a moment, lowering her head back against Asami’s, but her heart doesn’t really slow no matter how much she tells it to. She wonders if Asami can hear it, her ear pressed against her chest.  
  
//  
  
The party stretches on until two in the morning. Korra isn’t sure how much of that they’ve spent around this fire, but at some point Wu and Mako joined them, and everyone else eventually dispersed.  
  
Bolin stirs sand into the fire-pit, attempting to extinguish the still-glowing embers.  
  
Asami fell asleep on her shoulder at some point — she’s not exactly sure when, because the girl had practically climbed into her lap over the course of the evening, her legs crossing over Korra’s and her head tucked into the crook of her neck. Korra had pulled the towel over them like a blanket, and Opal grinned at her over the fire.  
  
Asami wakes enough to walk into the car with Mako’s help. Opal asks Korra to hang back for a second to help clean, but really it’s so she can squeal as quietly as she can once the others have left.  
  
“Come _on,_ Korra,” she said before hugging her goodnight.  
  
Mako is driving and Bolin calls shotgun after Wu sprawls out in the backseat.  
  
_Go for it,_ Opal cheers in her mind. And Korra wishes she could just give in, just listen to the small voice in her head. Her hand twitches where it lays just inches from Asami’s in the back seat bench they’re sharing. Asami’s head is leaning against the window, and Korra can’t tell if she’s deep in thought or just asleep.  
  
_Go for it? Is it really that simple?_  
  
Maybe from Opal’s point of view. But not from Korra’s. No, Korra _knows_ Asami. She would’ve noticed if her best friend throughout high school had a crush on her, right?  
  
_Even if Asami didn’t have a crush on me then, doesn’t mean she doesn’t now._ The thought gives her pause, but there are so many other things to consider besides just if Asami _wants_ this.  
  
_Do I want this?_ she thinks.  
  
It’s a risk — a major one. She’s so fresh from heartbreak to begin with — not that she’s thought about Kuvira at all tonight, but that’s beside the point — she can’t really handle losing another relationship, especially not one as important to her as Asami’s friendship. They’re on such unsteady ground to begin with. She’s trying to win her back.  
  
She’s already getting to mixed up in Asami, already in way too deep. What if she’s just rebounding? It’s not fair to do that to her best friend, just because she’s _lonely._ She’d messed up their friendship once. She doesn't want to do it again.  
  
But Asami seems really into her tonight… what if saying _no_ messed things up, too?  
  
Korra sighs. There’s no way she’s going to decide all of this tonight. It’s too much to think about, too big of a chance --  
  
_You only have until the end of summer_ , she reminds herself.  
  
//  
  
Korra’s certain everyone is in bed when she opens the door to the back deck. She sits on the edge, feet hanging over into the brush on the dune.  
  
Bed was daunting — alone in a room with Asami and her thoughts. It wouldn’t be a good combination. Instead, she grabbed a sweater and headed out onto the deck, sure that the fresh air would somehow fuel her thoughts and help her reach some sort of conclusion.  
  
_You’re overthinking it_. That was one thing Korra agreed with Opal one. She _was_ overthinking it. _But how can I not?_  
  
She doesn’t know how she misses the sound of the door sliding open, but she nearly screams when long legs are suddenly hugging her sides and Asami is wrapping her arms around her from behind, sitting on the stair above Korra’s.  
  
“Boo,” Asami whispers, and Korra lets out a breathy laugh.  
  
“Got me,” Korra admits quietly, hand coming to press against her heart. Asami slides her hand up Korra's arm, coming to rest on top of the other's.  
  
Korra swallows uneasily.  
  
“You know, I think everyone else went to bed,” Asami says, her voice quiet despite her implication that they are alone. She pulls back so her mouth is at Korra’s ear. “We could maybe pick up where we left off?”  
  
Asami's breath is hot against her ear, and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge, her whole body focused on the exact spot where she can almost feel Asami’s lips against her skin. And then she does — Asami leans down, her lips pressing against the small dip just underneath her earlobe. She closes her eyes, all her breath leaving her lungs when the other girl’s tongue darts against her jawbone. It comes back to her in a gasp, and she sits up suddenly.  
  
“Asami… we have to talk.” She turns so she can see Asami, who hasn’t moved an inch.  
  
“Oh,” Asami breathes, then blinks rapidly. She ducks her head, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before she starts to stand.“I just thought— I’m sorry, I thought were on the same page. I didn’t mean to—”  
  
“We are,” Korra is quick to cut her friend off, wincing at the sudden pain in her eyes. “I just… I just can’t.” She doesn’t know why, but Asami softens at this.  
  
Asami sits back down, this time next to her, leaving plenty of room between them. “What are you afraid of?” Asami asks, her eyes soft and kind, and Korra has to turn away.  
  
_So many things,_ she thinks, but she can’t bring herself to say it aloud.  
  
“You’re my best friend,” she answers simply.  
  
Her eyes are drawn back to Asami’s when the other girl reaches forward to push Korra's hair from where it hangs in front of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She leaves her hand there, resting against Korra’s cheek, and she resists the urge to lean into it, to take that comfort.  
  
Asami offers her a small, nervous smile. “I know it’s scary, feeling this away about a girl, but Korra I…” she takes a long breath, and Korra is left hanging on her words, counting the seconds before she starts speaking again. “The way I feel about you — around you, it’s like when you’re there, nothing else matters.”  
  
Asami pauses for a moment and laughs, the sound of it stirring something in Korra deep beneath the anxiety seizing her chest.  
  
“That was really corny, but I just meant I… When we’re together, there’s like this electricity, it’s all I can think about and feel and it’s… pretty distracting, honestly. And when you touch me,” she says, and the way her voice drops makes Korra shiver, “that _kiss_ , it was like…”  
  
Korra doesn’t let her finish, leaning past the few inches separating them until they’re kissing again. Asami stalls for a second before she relaxes, kissing Korra back with fervor, her hands landing on Korra’s hips where they bend.  
  
Korra lets the kiss last this time, her hands rising to thread through Asami’s hair. When Asami deepens the kiss this time she lets herself enjoy it, letting out a small sigh when she tastes the strawberries on Asami’s breath.  
  
They part after a minute or two, breathless as they lean their foreheads together.  
  
“Maybe we should uh — call it a night,” Asami says, breaths coming in small pants. Her lips are slightly puffy and deliciously pink, and Korra stares for a second, resisting the urge to just lean back forward and kiss her again — but then Asami’s words sink in, and she blinks herself out of her daze.  
  
“Yeah,” she says, her eyes finally snapping up to Asami’s. “Do we need to talk about this?”  
  
Asami shrugs. “How about we just… have fun?”  
  
Korra lets out a sigh. _Fun._ Nothing serious.  
  
“Okay. I mean, it’s just for the summer, right?” she suggests. Asami pauses, a confused look on her face for a second before she nods, smiling as she reaches for Korra’s hand as she stands.  
  
//  
  
Asami kisses her once more against their bedroom door, and it takes all of Korra’s willpower to pull away, give the other girl a peck on the forehead, and climb into her own bed.  
  
“Goodnight, Korra,” Asami says into the dark a minute later.  
  
“Night,” she answers.  
  
It’s not long before Asami’s breathing evens, and Korra knows she’s asleep.  
  
_“I know it’s scary, feeling this away about a girl,”_ Asami’s voice echoes in her ear, and Korra shifts uncomfortably in her bed, her thoughts racing from everything wrong with this to the way her stomach dropped when Asami pressed her against the hard wood, hand gently climbing up her torso before Korra gently pushed her away, to Asami crying on her just nights before about her father, to the brief touch of Asami’s lips to her neck and what that would feel like _everywhere_.  
  
_“When you touch me,”_ she remembers Asami saying, remembers the way her lips parted after she said it, her voice airier than usual — and then the feeling is back, pulling against her stomach and coursing through her veins and — she groans as she flips to face the wall.  
  
_This is going to be a long night_.


	13. can't keep my hands to myself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter just because I couldn't stand to let this go into the New Year without an update! Thank you for all the lovely reviews and kudos and to everyone who kept prompting me to update this. Hope you all had a lovely holiday :)
> 
> Edit: I just noticed we passed 1000 kudos and 200 comments. Thank you all so much!

When Korra wakes up, she's immediately aware of how _hot_  everything is around her. She almost throws off the covers, then reconsiders when she becomes aware of where her hands are, one resting against her bare abdomen while the other is trapped somewhere against the waistband of her sleeping shorts. 

She starts with a jolt, quickly pulling her hand up while glancing around. Asami isn’t in the room, she notices almost immediately.

 _Thank god_ , she thinks.

A phone is buzzing on top of one of the short vanities.

 _Asami’s_ , she realizes after a second. _Probably what woke me up_.

The other girl's bed is neat, covers only slightly ruffled as if she’d quickly made it this morning before leaving. Korra rubs at her eyes, blinking as she decides that she shouldn't steal another five more minutes of sleep if Asami is already up and going about her day. 

_What if I snore?_

The phone buzzes again, and Korra frowns when she sees a long list of notifications on the screen as it lights up. 

_Wonder what that’s all about._

Korra hears the shower running in the other room and smiles, realizing where her roommate must be. Asami had never really known how to kick back and relax as a teenager, and it apparently wasn’t a trait she’d developed as an adult either, not even on vacation. 

The phone dings this time along with a vibration, and Korra sits up to look.

 _Missed call_ , she thinks she can see from here, but there’s a lot more just out of sight beneath it, blocked by a piece of Asami’s clothing in the pile the phone is resting against.

Korra glances at the door. The shower is still running, so she has a few minutes until she even has to worry about Asami coming back in, right?  

_A little glance can’t hurt._

Her curiosity quickly gets the better of her, and she throws her legs over the bed and is on Asami’s side of the room in just seconds. 

Up close, she can see what is blocking the cell’s screen: a pair of underwear that look like something out of a magazine, purple sheer lace silhouetted against Asami’s glowing phone. Korra swallows, picking the underwear up with a shaky hand, determined not to picture her friend wearing them because she isn't sure if Asami even wants to take this thing that far. After all, Asami thinks they’re both experimenting with girls for the first time — something which Korra is going to have to correct her on in the very near future.

The phone is left in front of her. She presses the home button before she has time to second-guess herself — not that she’s doing anything wrong. It’s not like she’s going through her friend’s phone, after all, just checking the lock screen. She doesn’t even know the combo, so it’s not like she could even do anything with the information if she wanted to. Harmless, right? 

_Right._

Seven missed calls and eighteen emails, most of which Korra barely reads the subject line of before scrolling past, frowning. Reporters, business propositions — the list seems endless, and makes Korra uneasy just looking at it. 

_And all before ten in the morning. Yikes._

“Nosey, are we?” a voice says from behind her, and she just barely manages to keep her feet on the ground at the sound of it. 

Korra slams the phone back into the pile of clothes. She spins on her heel, hoping some excuse will occur to her by the time she opens her mouth when she's stopped short by the sight in front of her. Asami has somehow come into the room without making a noise, the door not quite shut behind her as she stands in front of Korra wrapped in a towel. 

“Uh— I—” Korra starts, then gulps, “was just checking the time,” she says, forcing a smile onto her face as she ignores the sudden urge to run from the room.

“Right.” Asami grins back at her. Korra fumbles with the underwear still clutched behind her back in her hand, shoving it ungracefully backwards into the pile. Asami’s eyebrows quirk but her gaze doesn’t stray from Korra’s face. Instead, her eyes flit down to Korra’s lips, taking a small step towards her.

Korra laughs, wincing at how awkward she sounds as her breaths come out shakily.

“I kind of need those,” Asami says, angling her head so she can see the clothes folded behind Korra. 

Korra clears her throat. “I can see that,” she says, hoping the smile spreading across her face is more sly than goofy. The burning on her cheeks makes her think the latter is a little more likely. 

Asami takes a step closer, one of her arms reaching around Korra to lean against the dresser behind her. Korra remembers her dream suddenly, where they were back in the water except she was a much more talented swimmer who didn’t even need to kick her legs to float and there was nothing to interrupt them —  except Asami’s cell phone, of course. The burning heat Korra felt when she woke up returns quickly to her stomach, and she swallows nervously when she realizes just how close Asami’s steps have brought her. 

“Good morning, by the way,” Asami says. She smiles, soft and sincere and Korra can’t help but return it. 

“Morning,” she barely has time to respond before Asami is leaning forward into her space and brushing her lips against Korra’s. The kiss starts slow, nothing like the rushed pace in Korra’s dream. Her lips are smooth, soft, and taste slightly of mint, reminding Korra that Asami is freshly showered and has already brushed her teeth and gotten ready for the day and that she probably looks like a _slob_  right now but hey — none of that really matters, because for some reason Asami is choosing to kiss her again, and she’s wasting no time getting into it. 

Asami steps so her legs are between Korra’s, just inches away from pressing their bodies fully together. Korra can feel Asami’s bare legs against her own and curses herself for not shaving the day before. Asami deepens the kiss ever so slightly, parting her lips so they can slide together until they’re locked into place. Korra darts her tongue out to break the seal they form there and Asami lets her, humming when Korra’s tongue slips between her lips for the first time. 

Korra slides her hands off Asami’s shoulders, trailing them against the water droplets gathering on the girl’s collarbones. She brushes the water off with her thumb and feels Asami shiver slightly against her. 

 _I can’t believe this is happening_ , she thinks, though the thought is buried deep beneath other, more pressing matters, like the way Asami is guiding her hands down until they’re resting against her hips. Korra’s hand squeezes against Asami’s waist, cautious, but Asami is quick to respond, leaning deeper into the girl. Her hips line up against Korra’s just right, and Korra has to pull back against the kiss to breathe as her head begins to spin a little. 

Asami giggles, as if that wasn’t quite what she was expecting. “Sorry,” she says breathily as she pulls back, and Korra smiles back at her. _Asami hasn’t done this before_ , she remembers, and she tries not to feel guilty at how nice having the upper hand feels right now. 

“Don’t be,” Korra says, wrapping her arm around her neck so Asami moves closer, their lips reconnecting with a small smack Asami’s fist tightens against Korra’s t-shirt, and she leans further into the kiss with a slight moan. Her mouth is soft, and she opens against Korra’s when she threads her fingers through Asami’s hair. Korra is beginning to feel like she might get lost in the slow burn spreading through her body from Asami’s hands as they begin to explore when they’re interrupted — _again._  

The phone rings loudly behind her, making the entire dresser shake as it vibrates. Korra ignores it, hoping that Asami will let it go to voicemail like she has the other seven missed calls, but— 

“Wait, wait—” Asami says, her hand against Korra’s shoulder. She brushes past her to reach for her phone, frowning when she sees the name there. “That ringtone, it’s uh — one of my dad’s top executives. I’ve gotta take this, okay?” 

Korra nods, flattening her hands against her thighs as she straightens. “Of course, yeah, go ahead.” She normally would be embarrassed by how raspy her voice sounds but Asami pauses at the sound of it, her lips quirking into a smile before she leans in once again to quickly kiss Korra before standing. 

She grabs her clothes along with her cell, smoothly opens the door and raises the phone to her ear at the same time. “Hello? Yes, this is she,” she says. Asami’s voice is cool and professional, and Korra can’t help the shiver that goes down her back at the sound of it. She mouths the word ‘sorry’ towards Korra as she leaves the room. 

Korra stares at the door for longer than she’d like to admit after Asami leaves. She doesn’t want to look in the mirror when she does move towards her own dresser, eyes down cast as she quickly flattens her sleep-mussed hair. When she finally does catch a look at herself she sees her cheeks pink and a smile on her face that she isn’t expecting. 

 _Like a kid with a crush_ , she lectures herself again, though the words are less effective somehow this time. _So what if she is just like a kid with a crush? Who cares? Apparently not Asami._

The girl had made that pretty clear last night when she’d kissed her.  _“How about we just have fun?”_ It was Asami’s suggestion, and Korra is determined to stick to it.  _Don’t overcomplicate things_ , she tells herself.

Asami wants to experiment for the summer. Maybe she’s just like all the college girls in the songs and the movies. Maybe this is something to do with the death of her father, maybe she’s rebelling against his strict rules after his death and when she’s over it this will all go back to normal. Maybe she’s — 

Korra pushes the thought out of her head as Asami comes back into the room, fully dressed and holding her phone in her hand. She doesn’t look happy, and she walks over where Korra is standing near the mirror. 

“They need to speak to me,” she says as she puts her phone back into her pocket. She frowns as she looks back up at Korra. “In person.” 

“We’ve already been here more than a week,” Korra offers, but Asami shakes her head. “We’ll be home by the end of the month. Can't this wait until then?” 

She sets her mouth in a firm line. “No, it has to be sooner than that.” Korra doesn’t know what to say, so she just reaches her hand forward and touches Asami’s arm. Asami’s eyes flit up to meet hers and soften. “It’s okay. I’ll just drive up to the city in a few days, I’m sure I can convince the board to come to the east coast headquarters.”

“Wow, _fancy_ ,” Korra says, raising her eyebrows. 

Asami bites her lip in return, taking a step closer to Korra. “Being boss' daughter has its perks,” she says.  A look flashes across her face at the thought of her father but she quickly recovers. Korra decides not to push it, instead closing the distance between them in a kiss that picks up right where they’d left off a minute or two before. 

Asami gasps into her mouth and Korra can’t help the smile that spreads across her face as she presses into the kiss. Asami wants to have fun, and so can Korra. She’s allowed to enjoy this a little. 

//

Bolin enters the kitchen with an exaggerated yawn, surprised when he only finds Mako sitting at the counter there. He’s already dressed and finishing up his breakfast, but doesn’t look anywhere near ready to start his day. 

“Good morning,” Bolin practically sings as he enters the room. As expected, Mako barely grunts in response, and Bolin rolls his eyes. He walks over to the coffee pot, deciding that if he might as well have a cup before he has to deal with Mako’s morning grouchiness. His brother’s bad mood can wait.

And it does; Mako is still slumped in his seat scrolling through his phone when Bolin’s finished fixing his caffeine to taste as little like coffee as possible. 

“So, what’s got you bummed?” Bolin asks, setting his mug on the counter to cool. 

It’s the moment he’s been waiting for since Bolin entered the room. Mako sighs. “Wu’s just being a pain in the butt, again. I must have told him a long time ago we could go see some movie when it came out, which apparently it did last weekend. I didn’t realize it would fall in the middle of this whole vacation but he’s _insisting_  he still wants to go and, well… this job pays me to well to risk it, you know?” He sighs at the end of his long rant, like he’s just revealed some sort of heavy truth, and Bolin pats him on the back. 

“I understand, big brother,” he says, shrugging. Bolin hops up on the counter next to where he’s placed his mug. “But hey, at least it’s an excuse to eat disgustingly buttery popcorn, right?”

“Ugh, ew,” Mako says, frowning, but he seems at least a little less disgruntled as he straightens in his chair. Bolin smiles. 

“So what’s the movie?” he asks as he brings the cup to his lips. 

He gives a disinterested shrug. “Something about a guy who can turn into an ant? I don’t know.” 

“Mako,” Bolin pauses. “Ant-Man? You're going to see Ant-Man, the latest Marvel movie, and you didn’t invite me?!”

Mako throws his hands up in surprise. “Hey, man, if you want to come be my guest. The more the merrier.” 

“Are you kidding?!” Bolin asks, grinning. “This is going to be awesome! I’ve got to tell Korra — hey, _Korra_!” he shouts before hopping off the counter. 

He almost makes it halfway down the hallway before the door to Korra’s room is being flung open in his face, and Korra is a blur as she darts the few feet between her bedroom door and the bathroom door. 

“Sorry, gotta shower,” she says just before she closes the door shut behind her.

Bolin is left slack-jawed, turning to Asami who seems a little dazed and confused by it all herself. She blinks a few times before shrugging. Bolin shakes it off. “Fine, but make it quick!” he calls through the door. “We’re going to see Ant-Man at 12!”

“Awesome!” she calls back from behind the door, and Bolin grins in response. 

//

“I didn’t realize you’d all be coming,” Wu comments as they climb into the car. He glances around, looking less excited than usual at the idea of friends to hang out with. “Just a warning: this movie theater is a little… well, quite frankly, according to the reviews, it’s a dump.”

“What do you mean 'a dump?'” Mako asks, frowning as he uses air quotes to mimic Wu’s tone.  

“I found out on Yelp that, while the decor and upkeep may be… lacking, there’s this place that does $5 matinees on Tuesdays, so I figured, why not?” Wu says, shrugging. “It sounded quaint.”

Mako shoots him a long look. “Right. Like you ever even consider money. What’s the real reason?” 

Wu sighs. “My parents may or may not have put me on a budget,” he says. 

“What?” Mako groans. “Damnit, that was the best part of this whole trip,” he says under his breath but just loud enough for the rest of the car to hear.

Wu sinks a little deeper into his seat. “It’ll be fine, really, you won’t even notice a difference.” 

“Maybe we could cut back on the steak dinners,” Asami suggests from the drivers seat, smiling at Wu in the rear mirror. Everyone but Mako chuckles and the conversation gets less tense from there the rest of the way to the theater, which is nearly twenty minutes away. 

By the time they’ve reached the theater Bolin has told them nearly everything he knows about Ant-Man, which is impressive even to Korra. He’s somehow managed to avoid spoilers from the movie, which Wu declares is ridiculous. He says he knows a huge twist that Bolin is going to love and Bolin immediately covers his ears, singing a song to himself.

Korra looks to Wu who just shrugs. “I didn’t look anything up,” he says, and this gets Mako to laugh for the first time since they’e left the house.

When they get to the theater Bolin ends up sitting as far away from Wu as possible, next to Korra with Asami and Mako between them. Korra is glad that Asami finds her way into the seat next to hers with ease, and even drapes her jacket over their laps in the commercials with a small smile. 

“It gets cold in movie theaters,” she whispers with a shrug, and Korra nods appreciatively. 

Bolin forces Mako to go for a second snack run about halfway through the movie since he seems determined to dislike it based on premise alone. Asami volunteers to tag along after everyone needs a refill on their drinks and Mako looks troubled as they list off orders. 

“His superpower is being the size of an ant?” Mako says to Asami as they stand in the concession line. “I just don’t get it.” 

Asami shrugs, because even if she isn't super into Marvel like Korra is, she certainly enjoyed the way her eyes lit up when the title of the film flashed across the large screen. When they get back she returns to her exact position, nestling a little closer to Korra as she settles in. She stretches the hoodie across their laps and smiles when Korra is quick to slide their hands together underneath it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always if you'd like to follow me on Tumblr @aka-patsywalker, I am in constant need of new blogs to follow. :)


	14. from my head to my toes, feeling overexposed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any typos, etc., just wanted to get this out there after... what's it been, seven months? Sorry kids. I finished my last semester of college, got a full-time job and life has just kind of taken over from there. It's been crazy busy, but I do know where I want this fic to end up, even if it takes me forever to write it. 
> 
> That being said, shoot me a message on Tumblr if you're open to chat about the future of this story, plot-lines, etc. As the aforementioned typos might indicate, I could use a beta, though no serious commitment is necessary. Just want someone to talk with a little :) 
> 
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

The sun is high in the sky when they step out of the theater, and Korra fumbles for her sunglasses as soon as she’s out the door. She always finds it unsettling, coming out of movies into daylight. She squints then stumbles, but Asami grabs her arm. 

“Walk much?” Mako teases with a smirk, but Korra doesn’t let it bother her. Especially not when Asami uses it as an excuse to keep their arms linked as they begin their stroll down the boardwalk.

They’re only out of the movie for a minute before Bolin’s mind wanders. “Let’s find some food!” he announces. It’s only another few seconds before he’s pointing at the first stand he sees. “Roasted nuts, anyone?” 

Wu shakes his head. “Nope. Allergic.” 

Bolin’s grin falls, but he’s determined to find something they _all_ can eat. 

“Gyros?” he suggested a minute later. 

Mako frowns. “You know I don’t eat Greek.” 

Bolin sighs, before his eyes light up. “Hotdogs!” He doesn’t give them time so say no, ushering them ahead. “I’ll order, you guys go sit,” he says, pointing them towards some picnic tables. Bolin counts their heads before stepping up to order. 

He comes back a few minutes later with a tray full of hotdogs and a large grin. 

“Order up,” he says as the tray lands with a _thwack_ on the wooden table. 

Everyone reaches forward and grabs one, except for Asami, who eyes the greasy food warily. “I’m okay — I had a lot of popcorn.” 

Bolin flashes her an easy grin. “More for me, then.” 

He’s on his fourth when he begins to look queazy, and Mako insists that there’s no shame in giving a hotdog (or two) to the seagulls. 

They continue their stroll, pace much slower now that they’re full of food. Wu seems to get taken in by every salesman, and Bolin is no better. The two of them have Mako at his wits end within minutes, and Korra and Asami hang back, not wanting to listen to his ire. 

“How long until you think Mako kills one of them?” Asami whispers to Korra, who grins in return. 

“I’d give it another thirty… maybe forty-five seconds?” Korra guesses, and Asami laughs. 

They don’t get to find out, practically slamming into Bolin as he’s stopped short in the middle of the walkway. He’s staring at a large poster, stapled to the fencepost. 

CARNIVAL! it announces in large, letters that seem to be screaming out at them. Bolin turns to them with a grin. 

“Guys, I have a great idea!” 

//

The rides are pretty typical carnival fare, but Wu seems thrilled. It strikes Korra that maybe he’s never been to a carnival before. Somehow, she doesn’t see his parents as the type of people to take him on a ferris wheel. 

They’ve just gotten off their first ride — some lame rollercoaster that mostly just gave Korra whiplash — when Wu’s eyes grow wide. 

“Guys, what _is_ that thing?” 

Bolin looks to where Wu is pointing before breaking out into a smile. “That, my friend, is the Zipper. It makes you feel like you’re about to die — it’s great, who’s in?” 

“I don’t know,” Asami says. “My dad told me some stories about the people who make these things, and they can be a bit dangerous —” 

“I’m in,” Make decides, watching the small contraption flip around and around as the people inside it scream. 

Korra is with Asami. Somehow the creaking of the metal as the cars spin around and around is not comforting. “I think we’ll sit this one out, you boys go ahead.”

Wu only pouts for a second at the two before Bolin is rushing forward excitedly towards the line and the younger boy follows him. 

Asami turns to Korra after they’ve left. “What now?” she asks, raising her eyebrows. Korra looks around for a moment before grinning. 

“I have an idea, come on,” Korra says, sliding her hand easily into the other girls and tugging her along. _It’s not really holding hands if you’re leading her somewhere, right?_ she reasons. She threads them through the crowd until she finds what she’s looking for. 

“Carnival games?” Asami asks, wrinkling her nose. “Really, Korra?” 

“Oh come on, don’t you want —” she glances around them. “I don’t know, a giant unicorn?” 

Asami pauses, her eyes studying the stuffed animals hanging above them. “When you put it that way… who doesn’t want a giant unicorn?”

She lets Asami pick the game. She decides on a classic — the one where you have to knock stacked milk bottles down with a baseball, just like in the movies. Korra grins as the man hands her three balls. She tries not to let her grin falter as she misses the first throw by a few inches. 

“Warming up,” she says with a wink. Asami rolls her eyes.

The next throw knocks a few bottles off the top, to which Asami cheers. 

Asami holds her hand up for a high-five. “Nice,” she says. “Maybe I’ll get that unicorn after all.” 

“Need to get them all if you want one of the big ones,” the attendant says in a bored tone, pointing to the toys above. “Right now you’ve got three, which is… these ones over here,” he says, gesturing to a wall of keychains. 

Korra huffs. _A keychain simply will not do._ She squints, focusing as she lobs the last ball. It hits squarely in the middle of the stack of bottles — and then bounces back off again, only one bottle shaking enough to fall from the pyramid. 

“What?!” Korra yells. “That’s rigged!” 

The attendant pretends like he doesn’t hear her. “That’s four bottles. Congratulations. You can pick a prize from any of these stuffed animals,” he says, pointing to a collection of small toys. 

She shakes her head, ready to fight but Asami grabs her hand. 

“At least it’s not a keychain,” she says, her smile soft. Korra blinks at her. “Can I have the puppy?” 

Korra sighs, taking in Asami’s big eyes for a long moment before turning to face the kid behind the counter. “Fine. We’ll take the dog.”

He hands it over — a cheap plushy thing that Asami immediately snatches up. Korra shoots a final glare at the boy before they turn to leave. They walk a few seconds in silence before Asami decides she doesn’t want to put up with Korra’s skulking all night. She nudges her shoulder. “What’s wrong?” she says. 

“Nothing,” she answers at first. Asami nudges her again and Korra shoots her a look. “I guess I wanted to win you something,” Korra admits. 

“You did,” Asami insists, but Korra shakes her head, glaring at the small stuffed animal. Asami smiles, squeezing her hand. “It’s the thought that counts, and that is a very sweet thought.” 

Korra’s cheeks tinge, and Asami bites her lip at the sight. Korra’s heart feels like it drops into her stomach when Asami’s eyes drop to her lips and she begins to move forward. 

_Not here,_ she barely has time to think before she’s saved by — well, by Bolin bursting through the crowd.

“Korra, Asami!” he shouts when he spots them. Asami turns her head towards the noise and Korra tries to shake the feeling of panic. “Come on, you’ve got to check this out.” 

He leads them through the crowd, all the way to the back of the fairground. 

“A haunted house? Really?” Korra says when they finally arrive. Bolin grins back at her. “I don't know, Bo. How scary can a carnival haunted house really be?” 

Resistance is futile, it turns out. The entirety of the so-called haunted house is in one trailer, which only reinforces Korra's notion that this is going to be the pretty lame, but Bolin doesn’t listen to reason as he makes them wait in the obscenely long line for it anyway. By the third time the soundtrack plays, thunder booming and witches cackling, Korra is praying for the end. 

It takes fifteen minutes, but their group is finally next up. 

“See you on the other side,” the ticket attendant says, his monotone voice not really selling the spook-factor, in Korra’s opinion, but she's suddenly content with the decision to waste five tickets on this fraud when Asami grabs her hand as soon as the lights go out. 

“Shit,” she hears Bolin whisper. “This is spooky.” 

Asami fingers tighten around hers. 

They walk into a room full of mirrors, which Korra is grateful for when she gets to see the look on Mako’s face as a screaming woman emerges from the shadows right in front of him. His eyes go wide, his arm swinging back to sweep Wu behind him. 

“Bro, why didn’t you protect me?” Bolin says, punching Mako’s arm when they finally make their way out of the mirror room and into a dark hallway. 

Mako doesn’t have time to answer. A loud _bang!_ and a clown is leaping from a closet in front of them. Bolin backs into Mako, throwing a door open and leading Mako and Wu through just as Asami tugs Korra down another hall, hands still linked together. They run for a few more seconds, making a few quick turns before they hit a dead-end.

Korra tries to pretend that her heavy breathing is from being out of shape. She isn’t _scared,_ after all. She’s just not much of a sprinter. 

“What now?” she asks after a moment, when she’s sure her breathing sounds less… well, pathetic. 

Asami glances behind her before turning back to Korra with a grin. With a quick, sure step, she’s in the other girl’s space, her hands landing on her hips as she pushes her back into the bookcase. Asami surrounds her, and Korra closes her eyes just as their lips meet. Asami’s fingertips dig into her hipbones, and she breathes out a moan into the kiss. It’s dark enough for her to almost forget that they’re in public, until — 

She hears the chainsaw whirring from down the hall, and Asami pulls away from her with a giggle. 

“Come on,” she says, flashing her a smile before grabbing her hand. “Let’s find the others.” 

//

They hit the ferris wheel next, but she feels a twinge of disappointment when Asami doesn’t end up sitting next to her. Instead, Korra winds up squished between Bolin and Wu. Not that she minds that much, of course — she’s here just as much to see Bo as she Asami, after all, right?

Bolin insists on riding on the carousel, and Wu is happy to join him. Asami kicks Mako’s ass at bumper cars, as expected by everyone but Mako himself. Then Wu barfs after the Gravitron, and they decide that maybe it’s time to go home. 

“Mind if I drive?” Mako asks as they make their way back to the car. 

“Not at all,” Asami says, tossing him the keys. 

“Shotgun!” Wu calls. Everyone decides its best to let him have it when he mentions its his best chance at not puking again way home. Bolin climbs straight onto the middle bench seat, passing out as soon as he hits the cushion. With a small smile Asami grabs Korra’s hand, pulling her into the back of the van. 

They hold hands the whole ride home. 

//

“Anyone up for a fire?” Bolin asks, still shaking off sleep as he walks into the house. 

“No way. I’m calling it a night,” Asami says immediately. Korra looks over to find Asami’s gaze fixed on her, and the she feels a shiver run down her spine. 

“Yeah, me too,” Korra responds automatically. 

“Party poopers,” Wu says. “I’m in!” 

Asami hugs them all goodnight before heading down the hall. Korra follows with a wave. She closes the door as she enters the bedroom, turning to lock it behind her. When she turns she finds Asami watching her intently. Her eyes glance down to the locked doorknob before a small smile works its way onto her face. 

She quickly steps forward and Korra is reminded of earlier at the haunted house, and her heart immediately begins to race again. Except this time, there isn’t a madman with a chainsaw or a killer clown around to interrupt— just a few rowdy boys and a locked door between them. 

The train of thought leaves her head when Asami presses against her. She isn’t sure when _just_ _having fun_ turned into doing this every time they are alone — but she isn’t complaining. Not when Asami’s mouth opens against hers and not when Asami’s legs find their way between her own a few seconds later, her hips pressing against Korra's as they lean into the sturdy wooden door. 

They’ve skipped a few steps tonight, certainly — and Korra can’t blame Asami for getting frustrated. God knows the interruptions have been killing Korra. Still, that doesn’t stop her surprise when Asami’s hands tug at the bottom of her shirt. 

Korra nods slightly, and Asami pulls away just enough to quickly yank Korra’s the tee over her head. She doesn’t waste a moment, her lips quickly finding Korra’s pulse point, kissing her way up her to her ear as Korra closes her eyes and leans her head back against the wall. 

Korra’s hands graze Asami’s skin as she slides her hands under her shirt. She makes it halfway up her back when she realizes — Asami doesn’t have a bra on under her oversized hoodie. 

Asami pulls her earlobe between her teeth and Korra lets out a gasp, her nails scraping down Asami’s back without her permission. Asami runs her hands up her arms, squeezing as Korra tenses her muscles. 

Korra knows she’s just standing there, getting lost in the feeling, which is silly — this is supposed to be a new experience for Asami, not for her. She shakes off the dizziness, reaching up to pull Asami back down into another searing kiss.

Her hands find their way back under Asami’s shirt, sliding up the front this time. She’s not prepared for the way Asami moves against her when Korra presses her palm against her chest, thumb bumping against the hard nipple she finds there. Korra can’t help the groan that escapes her throat at the contact. Asami rolls her hips again, her forehead dropping to rest against Korra’s shoulder as Korra presses back against her. 

“Don’t stop,” Asami whispers. Korra almost misses it, almost convinces herself she imagined it before Asami’s leg pulls her tighter against her. “Please,” she says, and this time Korra is pretty sure that it’s real.

This isn’t how she pictured this going, hands roaming under clothes and hushed moans behind thin walls— but she’ll take it, that’s for sure. 

Korra pushes back into Asami, and they stumble the few short steps to the closest bed — Asami’s, in this case. Asami’s legs buckle as she hits the mattress, and Korra collapses clumsily on top of her. It doesn’t slow Asami down though. She grabs Korra by the waist and pulls her back down, determined to continue right where they’d left off. 

Korra’s mouth quickly finds hers again and Asami is kissing her back with fervor now, her hands coming up to tangle in Korra’s hair. Korra shoves Asami’s shirt up against her ribs, shivers running up her spine at the feeling of her friend’s skin against her own as their stomachs touch.

Asami presses her head back into the bed as she lets out a breathy laugh. “God, Korra,” is all she says before grinning back up at her. Her hand snakes its way into Korra’s hair and she’s pulling her back down to kiss her again. 

They move slower now, a tempo that Asami sets with both her kiss and her hips, which move lazily against Korra at first before growing frustrated. _I liked the door better,_ Asami thinks, but then Korra slides a leg between hers and their thighs fit together just right and any complaint Asami had has flown out the window. 

She lets out a short breath as Korra pauses against her, unsure if she’s gone too far. Asami doesn’t know if she can speak, so instead she moves, leaning up to capture Korra’s mouth in her own as she grinds up against the other girl.

Korra moans into Asami’s mouth, which only spurs her on more. Korra matches her rhythm after a moment, remembering that she’s done this before, she knows how to do this. Her hands return to where they were earlier, dancing up Asami’s ribcage, and she can’t help but smile at the way Asami leans into her touch. 

“Korra,” Asami gasps out, and Korra isn’t sure her name has ever sounded as good before. Korra’s hips work a little harder against Asami’s, and she’s much louder the next time as her head hits the mattress again. “ _Korra_ ,” she says, more insistently this time, and Korra wraps her hand underneath Asami’s thigh in search of a better angle. 

And then — someone is knocking on the door — _hard_. 

Korra pulls away from Asami, standing before she has time to realize what she’s doing. Her shirt landed near the foot of the bed, and she tugs it roughly back on. She doesn’t look up at the other girl until she’s finished fixing her clothes. 

Asami stares back at her, wide eyed. 

“Korra?” a voice calls, and she looks back at the door. 

Korra pats down her clothes once more before making her way over to the door. She opens it as little as possible before she sees Wu standing before her.

“What do you want?” she asks, voice harsher than she inteds. 

“Uh — we’re making s’mores, if you guys wanted to join,” he offers. 

Her faces softens. “Thanks, but we’re uh — we’re sleeping,” she says, not daring to glance behind her. He doesn’t seem to doubt her thought, nodding with a smile.

“Night, Korra.” 

When she turns around, Asami has tucked her self under the covers. Her eyes are closed, and Korra doesn’t know if she should check to see if the other girl is awake even though she doesn’t think she could possibly have fallen asleep in the last thirty seconds. 

Something about the way Asami looked at her after she’d pulled away isn’t sitting right with her. She stands there for a few seconds, and when Asami doesn’t stir, she shuts off the light before quietly sliding into her own bed. 

//

When Korra opens her eyes in the morning, Asami is already gone. It’s the first thing she notices, sending a sinking feeling to the pit of her stomach. _Did I do something wrong?_

The second thing she notices is the smell of bacon. She’s still groggy as she makes her way into the kitchen, noting the shower running as she passes. 

_Found Asami_ , she notes. _At least she didn’t run away._

She’s greeted by Bolin in a chef’s hat. “Bonjour!” he says with an exaggerated swing of his spatula. “The menu this morning will be scrambled eggs, pancakes, and bacon.”

“A feast,” she notes, to Bolin’s delight. 

“How’d the two of you sleep?” he asks. Her eyes shoot up nervously to his, checking for any sign of mischief there, but he seems totally focused on the task at hand. 

“Not bad,” she answers, honestly. “It gets a little hot.”

Bolin snorts. “No kidding.” 

“How was your fire?” she asks.

He grins. “Great. Mako told scary stories, Wu almost cried.” 

Korra laughs. “I’m glad you kids are having fun.” 

“And I’m glad you old ladies got your beauty rest. Speaking of, can you find out if Asami is hungry for me?” Bolin asks. “She was in the shower when I started cooking.” 

Korra glances down the hall, where the bathroom door now hangs slightly ajar. _Must’ve been a quick shower._

“I think she’s out. I can check.” 

She takes a deep breath before pushing away from the counter, making her way towards the bedroom. She hears Asami moving around inside, and she pauses. She’s not sure if she’s supposed to knock since it is her room, but Asami just got out of the shower. She could be _naked_. 

Korra raps at the door three times.

“Come in,” she hears Asami call. 

“Hey, are you —” Korra freezes, door held half open in her hand. “…. going somewhere?” she finishes. Asami has one of her smaller luggage bags open in front of her on the bed, and she holds a partially folded pair of pants in her hands. 

Asami glances up at her quickly before she nods. “I decided to go visit the board sooner rather than later. They won’t stop calling, and I’m trying to enjoy a little fun in the sun, you know?” 

Asami’s smile doesn’t quite meet her eyes, faltering in one corner. Korra remembers the look well; nerves, like after the time they’d stayed up all night studying for their advanced economics exams. Asami had always felt the pressure to score perfectly from her father. Now, she’s clearly under pressure again, and Korra hopes she’ll be able to hold it together in front of this board that intimidates her. 

“That’s a good move,” Korra says, trying to sound reassuring. “Want help packing?” 

Asami smiles. “Sure.” 

Korra walks into the room. “Do you have a check list?” 

“How did you know?”

Korra laughs. “Just… seems like something you’d do.” 

Asami hands her a notepad, and Korra glances through the list. 

“Toiletries?”

Asami nods. “Check.”

“Pajamas,” Korra reads. 

Asami pulls something out of a drawer. “Got it.”

They go through like this for a few more minutes, until all there’s left to do is pack the bags. It’s quiet, but it’s comfortable. Or at least, Korra thinks it is.

Asami’s mind is apparently running a mile a minute.

“What are you planning on doing after graduation?” she asks Korra abruptly. Her eyes are downcast, avoiding Korra’s as she folds her clothes.

Her nervousness rubs off on Korra, who chooses her next words carefully.

“I’m… not really sure,” Korra says. Asami pauses for a second before nodding. She doesn’t say anything more, and Korra doesn’t like the silence that falls between them. She knows she shouldn’t make any promises, but she wants to give Asami an answer she’ll be happy with.“I guess, right now, I’m planning on moving home.” 

Something in Asami seems to relax, her eyes quickly coming to meet Korra’s before a small smile forms on her face. “That’d be nice,” she says. 

The warmth behind her eyes makes Korra blush, and she’s quick to try and move the conversation along. “What about you? 

Asami falters. “Well — there’s the whole business with Future Industries,” she says. 

Korra freezes before smacking her hand against her forehead. “Right, of course, sorry, I —” 

“Relax, Korra,” Asami laughs. “It’s my business now, I have to be able to talk about it.”

Korra tries to look like that reassured her, but can’t help but feel a twinge of self-loathing at the flash of hurt that shot through Asami’s eyes just a moment ago. 

“Is there a lot of work in communications in Republic City?” Asami asks. 

This time it’s Korra’s turn to falter. “Uh— actually, I ended up majoring in physical therapy.” 

_Open mouth, insert foot_ , Korra thinks. 

“Oh,” Asami blinks. Her hands pause mid-fold. “Oh,” she repeats. 

“I switched sophomore year,” she says, as if that makes it any better. 

“Why?” Asami asks. 

“I uh… got injured, playing soccer,” she says. “I thought I might have to have surgery, I would’ve had to stop playing for at least a year… Then I met this really great physical therapist and, well, I think I have a shot of making captain next year.”

The cheery ending to her story isn’t enough to lift the mood. Asami slows, then stops folding altogether. Her eyes are focused on something on the bed, and Korra shifts awkwardly in the silence. 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Asami says finally. Her voice is thick, and Korra doesn’t know what to make of it. It wasn’t Asami’s fault that they were out of contact, after all. 

“It was okay. I wasn't — I had friends,” Korra finishes lamely. 

Asami nods. A wry smile tugs at one side of her mouth. “Of course you did,” she says. 

Korra resists the urge to apologize — she doesn’t want to make them have this conversation again. This is supposed to be their summer to not be thinking about this whole thing after all. 

Asami seems to be of a similar mindset. At the very least, she certainly doesn’t seem to want to dwell.

“What do you say you come with me?” Asami asks suddenly, the words a jumble as they rush out of her mouth. Korra pauses for a moment, trying to go over the words in her head to make sure that she heard them correctly in the rush.

“ _Korra_?” she hears Bolin call for her. “ _What’s she want?”_

Korra turns to the door. “Uh — same as me!” she shouts. She didn’t actually ask, but she’s pretty sure Asami will eat pancakes and bacon just about any day. 

“What’d you say?” Korra says, her eyes settling back on Asami, whose hands are still awkwardly holding the same shirt, waiting for an answer. 

“You want to come with me?” Asami takes a deep breath before speaking, her words slower now. “We can get a hotel, stay the night. No… interruptions?” she offers, her eyebrows raising pointedly with her last words. 

Korra wonders where this is coming from — how Asami can switch so quickly from upset to flirtatious — but she doesn’t dare ask. She swallows. “Yeah, sure,” she answers. “That sounds… fun.”

Asami grins. “Oh, it will be.” 


	15. only fools do what i do

“Korra?”

She stirs. The first thing Korra is aware of is that someone is sitting on the bed next to her. She’s slow to wake up, eyes stuck shut, mind groggily stumbling over her first thoughts of the day —  _ what time is it? _

She doesn’t care a moment later when fingers thread their way through her hair, pressing lightly into her scalp. She tries to suppress a groan, and is only successful because of how quickly the pressure retreats. A few seconds pass before the hand is back, this time on her shoulder, and Asami is shaking her awake.

Korra is surprised to see its light outside when she opens her eyes — _it feels earlier than that,_ she thinks — though it looks as if the sun has just barely risen, an orange light glowing just outside the window.

Korra isn't convinced that she's not still dreaming when she sees the way Asami is looking down at her, hand resting gently against her arm.

“Good morning,” Asami says, still raspy from sleep. Korra blinks at her, gaze instantly falling to her mouth as if drawn in by Asami's voice, tired and resting lower than it usually sits. “Sorry — I know I said we could leave a little later, but I kind of wanted to get out of here before anyone else wakes up.”

Korra blinks, suddenly realizing that no— this is not a dream, and she should probably wipe the dopey look off her face before Asami changes her mind about her tagging along. She sits up, stretching her arms wide before pausing, sniffing the air.

“Coffee?” she grunts, and Asami smiles, reaching over to grab the mug waiting on the nightstand.

“You still like it black?” Asami asks. She doesn’t need an answer when Korra takes a sip, her eyes closing for a long second before a contented smile appears on her face.

“Thank you,” she says.

“Don’t thank me, it’s for my own sake,” Asami says, cracking a smile. “I used to wake you up for soccer practice. You’d just let your alarm ring for hours. Remember that time you tried to punch me?”

“That wasn’t my fault — I was dreaming! I’m a really heavy sleeper.” She takes another sip, and Asami lets the silence hang over them for a second before she turns to stand.

“The company is sending a car,” Asami says. “It’ll be here in about twenty.”

Korra laughs, “Good thing I packed last night.” She takes another gulp before forcing down a yawn.

“Sorry,” Asami repeats. She looks like she means it, so Korra is sure not to grumble as she stands. She can’t help the long stretch that takes over her body once she’s up, curving her back as she reaches towards the sky.

She finds Asami’s eyes unabashedly on her when she’s finished her yawn and tries not to blush. “I’ve just got to brush my teeth,” she says, quickly excusing herself as she slips past Asami. She brings her mug, dropping it off in the kitchen before making her way to the bathroom. Her cheeks are still pink when she catches herself in the mirror.

_ Get it together, Korra,  _ she reprimands herself, splashing some cool water on her face. She runs a hand through her hair, remembering the days when she would have to wake up early to fuss with it in the mornings before high school.

_ Short hair is much easier. _

She takes her time brushing her teeth, still trying to convince herself that this is a good idea. She and Asami haven’t been alone together since they’d started this and she’s not sure what will happen once they are.

_ That’s the whole point, stupid. Why don’t you want to be alone together? _

She looks at herself in the mirror for a long second.

_ What are you afraid of? _

Things are going good with Asami, for what they are. Asami doesn’t seem to have much lingering anger towards her, though who knows if that will still be true at the end of the summer, when their little treaty is off. Still, Korra has a hard time imagining that Asami is harboring some deep hatred of her, hiding under every kiss.

But still, there’s something there that feels dangerous each time they touch, something lurking beneath the surface about to crack.

_ Asami’s been making some reckless decisions lately. What if I’m just another one of those?  _ she thinks.  _ I could be part of her grieving process… would that be so bad? _

The sharp pang in her chest at the thought answers that question for her. She shakes it off, reaching for her toothbrush.

A knock comes at the door. “Korra? I just got a call from the driver — he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” she calls back. “Almost done.”

When she returns to the room, she’s surprised Asami isn’t there. She considers going looking for her before she remembers that she only has a minute or two left, and she’s still in her pajamas. She slips into clothes quickly, hoping her jeans and tee are suited for whatever Asami has planned for the day.

By some miracle, the driver finds the house despite the lack of GPS service. They’re waiting for them when they step outside.

“The train is pretty far away,” Asami says, her hand touching the small of Korra’s back as she moves up behind her. “Why don’t you take the back seat — you can stretch out, maybe get some more sleep?”

Korra nods at Asami. “Thank you for respecting how precious my sleep is to me.” Asami shakes her head, but Korra notices the small growing smile on her face before she turns towards the car.

Asami tells the driver where to go as she climbs in the front. Korra slides into the backseat, leaning her head against the window as they begin to pull away.

They’ve just made it to the main road when Asami taps her on the knee.

“Here,” she says. “Take my sweater, you can use it as a pillow.”

She hands Korra the balled up garment, and Korra tucks it under her shoulder. She wonders if Asami notices the way she presses her nose into it as she closes her eyes, but she’s asleep so quickly that the thought barely has time to bother her.

//

This time, Korra awakens to the sound of car doors slamming. She jostles as she wakes, quickly taking in her surroundings. They’ve reached the train station, which is bigger than Korra would have thought, given their secluded location. Then again, she’s not sure how long she was asleep. They could be far, far away from the beach house now.

“Thank you again,” Asami is saying to the driver as she hands him a wad of cash.  _ She’s always been a generous tipper _ , Korra notes. Asami seems to notice Korra as she begins to stretch in the back seat. “Oh good, you’re up. I wasn’t sure I could handle the stress of waking you twice in one day.”

Korra smiles back. “Very funny.” She glances at the clock on the dashboard. “What time is the train?”

“We’ve got ten minutes to get tickets and some breakfast,” Asami informs her.

“I think I just need more coffee,” Korra says with a yawn.

Asami laughs as she reaches for the car door. “You’re an addict."

//

They manage to find two seats next to each other on the train, which proves challenging.

“Guess it's rush hour,” Asami notes, eyeing a man with a large briefcase. “Sorry, we should have left later.”

Korra shrugs. “Early bird gets the worm and all that.”

“I’m not sure that applies in this situation,” Asami frowns, shifting as the man sitting across from them shuffles his legs. She sighs. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“You made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Korra says, grinning. She’s been buzzing with excitement ever since Asami asked her to join her yesterday afternoon — Bolin had even asked her why she kept smiling to herself when they were playing Mario Kart the night before, despite the fact that she was getting her ass kicked.

Asami laughs. “Glad to hear I’m irresistible,” she quips. “I promise I won’t be stuck in there with them for too long. There should be plenty of evening for us to enjoy.”

Korra feels her cheeks burning, and considers trying to come up with a response before she decides she doesn't trust her voice to respond. Instead, she pats down her pockets, searching for her phone.  _ Time for some music. _

She pulls at her phone and reaches in her other pocket — and finds nothing.

Korra groans. “Shoot. I forgot my headphones.”

“No worries, we can share,” Asami says. She pulls a pair out of her pocket, then offers Korra one of her earbuds. She slides one into her ear, the one furthest from Korra, and she wonders if it was on purpose as she has to lean into Asami’s space in order to reach the headphone.

A guy with a sweet sounding voice begins to sing, and Korra feels herself relaxing. It only takes a few seconds before she’s leaning her head onto Asami’s shoulder. A small smile spreads over her face.

“You know this song?” Asami asks, her voice just low enough for Korra to hear. She shakes her head. “Want to pick the next one?”

She hands her phone over to Korra, who pauses for a moment before typing something into the search bar. They go back and forth for a few minutes, each queueing a song until Korra goes to give Asami the phone and she takes Korra's hand instead.

//

The sun is high in the sky when they get off the train. Korra squints as they walk out from underground.

Asami doesn’t take nearly as long to adjust, and Korra wonders how many times she’s made trips like this to big cities that Korra had barely dreamed of.

“We have time to grab some lunch before I have to go to headquarters,” Asami says, walking until she reaches a break in the foot traffic where she can turn and face Korra. “Any requests?”

Korra shakes her head. “I’ve never been here. Your choice.”

“Pizza it is,” she nods. Korra frowns — it seems unlike Asami to choose something unhealthy. But she’s certainly not complaining. Asami finds a pizza place on her phone — a four minute walk, according to the app. They do it mostly in silence, Korra taking in the city with wide eyes as she trails a step behind Asami.

She waits until they’re in line at the shop to speak up again. “So, want to tell me what your meeting is about?” Korra watches as Asami shifts uncomfortably. “I mean — no pressure, I was just wondering.”

Asami offers her a smile. “No offense — I just don’t want to jinx it, and I think talking about it would honestly only make me more nervous,” Asami explains.

Korra doesn’t want to push it. “No worries.” The person in front of them moves to the side, and she walks up to the counter. “Can I have two cheese slices with a coke?”

The man looks to Asami next, who orders a slice and grabs a bottle of water.

“Do you really need more caffeine?” Asami asks, eyeing Korra’s soda as they leave the pizzeria.

“I still have a headache from all of Bolin's screaming yesterday,” Korra groans. They start to head back the way they came, where Asami had noticed a park a few blocks away.

Asami rolls her eyes. “Poor Bolin — remember that time he got so scared he puked at The Asylum?”

“I totally forgot about that place,” Korra says, a grin spreading over her face. It was always one of their favorite things to do in fall. It wasn’t anything like the rinky-dink haunted house at the carnival — no, The Asylum had a large costume budget. And they could easily afford it; the wait to get inside was always at least two hours through the fall months. “God, and the boys thought that carnival ride was scary. Imagine Wu going on one of the solo runs?”

“I can almost imagine his face when the guy the ghoul jumps out at the end,” Asami says. “You know, the one with the jaw hanging off?”

“Ugh, do we have to bring him?” Korra says, but she feels guilty about it almost immediately. The kid is growing on her, after all. “Fine,” she says with a sigh. “I’ll take an Advil first this time.”

Korra walks a few steps before she realizes that Asami isn’t next to her anymore. She turns around to find the other girl staring at her with an odd look on her face. “You’d do that?” she asks.

“What?” Korra frowns.

“Come home,” Asami answers. It hangs between them for a moment before she continues. “For Thanksgiving break this year, you’ll be home?”

Korra shrugs. “I told you — I plan on moving back home after school.”

“Yeah, but that’s so far off. Thanksgiving I can actually hold you to,” Asami says, a small smile working its way across her lips. Korra watches it spread, and can’t help but return it.

“Yeah, you can,” she affirms with a nod. “Christmas, too.”

Asami rolls her eyes, but it doesn’t hide the blush spreading across her face. “Be careful, you don’t want to spoil me.”

_ Maybe I do,  _ Korra thinks, the aching feeling in her chest from this morning returning. Her fingers itch to reach out to Asami as they begin to walk again, so she shoves them in her pocket.

A moment later, Asami links her arm through Korra’s, and the feeling falls away.

//

They find a bench under some shade to eat their pizza. Asami sits cross legged, her plate in her lap as she faces Korra.

They eat in silence, Korra’s slices disappearing almost as fast as Asami’s single slice. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” she says after quickly making her way through the first half.

“Me either,” Asami agrees. “Coffee is an appetite suppressant,” she reminds Korra.

“Thanks, doc,” Korra says. “But nothing could suppress my appetite for pizza.”

“I can see that.” Korra shoots Asami a look, but it just makes Asami laugh. “You have sauce on your face.”

Korra quickly swipes at her face, but Asami’s grin just grows wider, and she knows she’s missed. Asami scoots closer to her, reaching out with a napkin that she’d produced from under her plate.

She wipes Korra’s cheek, and she feels her skin flush. “And now you’re my mother, too?” she tries to make light of it, but Asami is looking at her intently now. She didn’t realize how close the other girl had gotten in the process, and tries her hardest not to let her gaze fall to Asami’s lips.

It doesn’t work.

Asami leans in, her mouth connecting with Korra’s. If she senses the way Korra tenses, she doesn’t show it, pulling away a second later with a contented smile. Korra’s never kissed a girl in public before. It only takes a brief glance around to confirm that no one is watching before she decides it's something she wants to do again.

Asami smiles into this next kiss, happy Korra is making the first move. She pulls away after a moment, earning a laugh from Korra when she turns to take a bite of her pizza.

“What? You’re not the only one that’s hungry,” she points out.

“Fair enough,” Korra nods, returning to her own lunch.

They finish their slices then decide to walk around the park. There aren’t many people there, considering that it’s probably a little later than most people take lunch on a weekday. Still, Korra’s heart races as she holds Asami’s hand, and she tries not to question whether it's really her nerves causing it this time.

They stop near a fountain, and Asami fishes two pennies out of her pocket. “Want to make a wish?” she asks.

“Sure,” Korra says. She watches as Asami’s lips form a firm line as she considers what she wants. It only takes a few seconds before she flips the coin into the water.

Korra decides on her wish and tosses hers in, watching as it chases Asami’s to the bottom. “What’d you wish for?” Asami asks, and Korra turns to face her.

“If I tell you, will it still come true?” Korra asks.

Asami shrugs. “I think so.”

“I want to be captain of the soccer team,” she admits. “That’s what I wished for.”

“You’ll get it,” she says, and Korra grins at the certainty in her voice. Asami eyes trail off as she gets lost in thought for a moment. “How’d you get hurt? Sophomore year?” her eyes find Korra’s again as she asks.

Korra isn’t sure whether Asami really wants to hear this story. It’s one of her worst memories — she’d taken a wrong fall during a playoff game. She can remember laying face down in the grass, trying her hardest not to cry as pain tore through her leg. The lights were bright, and it felt like she was there for hours before they brought a stretcher to carry her off the field. After a few seconds of excruciating pain, shock set in, and she was only aware of her heart as it thudded in her chest as she lay unable to move.

“I tore my ACL,” she says, deciding that maybe a clinical answer is what Asami is really looking for. “I spent the night in the hospital. They thought they might have to do surgery, but we were able to work through it with physical therapy. It’s still weak — but I just have to be careful.”

“Are you?” Asami asks, eyebrows raised.

Korra scoffs, faking offense. “Of course.” Asami gives her a serious look, and she concedes. “Yes, I’m careful. I never want to have to go through that again, trust me.”

Asami nods. “It must’ve hurt pretty bad.”

Korra shrugs. “It wasn’t the pain that bothered me. It was the fear that this injury could potentially take away everything I’d worked for, everything I wanted.”

“That does sound scary,” Asami says. Her hand reaches for Korra’s. “I’m glad you fought for it. It must’ve been a lot of work.”

Korra smiles. “Me too. And it let me meet some really amazing people, and I learned that there’s nothing better than letting the body heal itself. It’s why I changed my major. I felt inspired.”

“Finding a passion will do that,” Asami smiles, but there’s something holding this one back. Korra has a feeling that she knows what it’s about — but she also knows better than to ask about Asami's upcoming meeting, so she decides on a change of subject as she laces her fingers through Asami’s, tugging her down the pathway.

//

It’s mid-afternoon by the time they finally leave the park. They lost track of time, and decide it’d be best if not to walk if Asami doesn’t want to be late for her meeting. Korra watches as she flags down a taxi, and is impressed when it takes her less than a minute to grab the attention of a cabbie.

Asami tells the man the address as she climbs into the seat, Korra following behind her. Something catches her eye as she buckles her seat — Asami’s hand, fidgeting nervously in her lap. She reaches over to grab it, earning her a smile from across the worn leather seat, but she somehow feels like her comfort is in vain as Asami’s fingers continue to tap against hers.

Asami lets out a long exhale. “I’m a little nervous,” she admits.

“It’ll be okay,” Korra says. “You’re ready for this. And it’ll just be an hour out of your life. You’ll feel much better when it’s over.”

Asami squeezes her hand back this time, but her brow remains furrowed as she stares out the front of the car as they make their way downtown.

//

Asami is gone for nearly two hours.

Korra sits on a bench outside of the building. Asami left her with her headphones, which seemed like a good idea until Korra’s phone died after the first hour, and Korra realizes that she not only forgot her headphones, but her charger as well.

She takes to watching the people as they pass by her, wondering about their lives. She can almost imagine herself living somewhere like this. It’d be peaceful — anonymity. Just another face in the crowd.

She lets her mind wander to what they’ll do after Asami gets out of her meeting. Asami promised her dinner, somewhere nice.  _ Steakhouse, maybe?  _ she thinks. Korra is happy she decided to come — not for the steak, per se, but because Asami clearly feels that she's enough of a comfort to want to go to such lengths to thank her for coming. It makes sitting in silence for an hour more than worth it, knowing that Asami appreciates it.

It’s nearing five o’clock when Korra notices Asami as soon as she leaves the building, but she can’t seem to catch Asami’s eyes as she makes her way towards the bench. Korra stands as she approaches. “How’d it go?”

Asami pauses for a moment before a tight smile is fixed on her face. “Fine.”

“Just fine?” Korra prompts with a small smile, but Asami doesn’t seem to be in a joking mood.

Asami nods. “It went well. Want to head to the hotel?” she says, already beginning to step away.

Korra’s doesn't follow. “What about dinner?”

Asami pauses, looking confused, then stricken. “Right — sorry, I just. I guess I’m tired, it’s been a long day, and —”

“Asami,” Korra interrupts, holding up a hand. “You know you can talk to me, right? That’s kind of what I’m here for."

Asami looks off to the side, her eyes unfocused as she nods. “Yeah, of course.” She pulls her lips together in a firm line. “Do you think maybe we could just walk for a bit?”

“Sure,” Korra says. She follows Asami’s lead this time as she starts down the street. They make it four blocks before Asami speaks.

“When my father died,” Asami begins, her voice immediately thick. “He had it set up so that an interim CEO would take control of Future Industries while I finished school, at which point I could take the reigns. They brought in some ‘brilliant young mind' — Iknik Varrick, have you heard that name?”

Korra shakes her head.

“He’s… a piece of work. He started last year and he’s already made so many changes that I can’t imagine what he has planned for— well anyway, that’s besides the point,” Asami sighs. “Obviously they see something in him they like, because the board brought me here today to ask me to cede control of the company to him on a more... permanent basis.”

Korra frowns. “Give up Future Industries?” she says, then stops to think for a moment. “Would you want that?”

“I don’t know,” Asami answers, shoulders drooping. “To be honest, I thought I did for a while. I thought maybe I’d graduate school, leave home and move to some city far away. Just  _ live.” _

Korra tries not to act like those words don’t send a shock through her. It’d be unfair of her to take offense to that, anyway. She’d done the same when her aunt died, and she would be lying if she said it wasn’t what got her through. It was a lot easier to ignore the hole Katara had left when she wasn’t living in her house anymore.

“It sounds like you know what you want,” Korra says, tentatively.

“Yeah. It sounded great — when it was my idea, anyway.” Korra can’t help but laugh at that, and Asami shoots her a look. “It’s not like that. It’s the way they said it. It was the way they just assumed I wouldn’t want to do it.” She closes her eyes. “It was worse than that. They assumed I  _ couldn’t _ do it.”

“That’s crazy.” Asami’s eyes snap up to meet Korra, who is looking intently back at her.

Asami blinks at her. “It’s really not. I have no experience, I don’t know how to run a company. Maybe they're right— maybe I have no idea what I'm doing,” Asami says with a sigh, dropping her gaze.

Korra shakes her head. “No way,” she says, but it falls flat, and Asami still won’t look at her. She tries again, this time squeezing Asami’s hand. “I watched you grow up, Asami, I’ve seen your science fair ribbons. And you’ve been living and breathing this company since you were a kid — your dad used to read annual reports to you as bedtime stories. No one knows this stuff better than you.”

“That’s sweet,” Asami says, allowing herself to smile for a second. “But I still can’t help but feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. I just wish my dad were here to tell me what to do.”

“He’d tell you to think it over, consider all of your options, just like you’re doing.” Korra offers her a smile. “As long as you do that, you’re doing what he would have wanted.”

Asami’s eyes snap to Korra, lingering for just a second too long before turning back to the sidewalk. Asami lets their hands dangle between them, and Korra thinks if she wasn’t holding on so tightly they’d probably slip apart. “Yeah. Somehow I doubt that.”

A shiver runs down Korra's back, as if someone had slipped an ice cube down the back of her tee.  _ Yeah, Hiroshi probably would agree with the single queen-sized bed waiting for us at the hotel. _

She lets her hand fall away from Asami’s, tucking it in her jeans pocket instead. Korra stays a half-step behind Asami for a few blocks, unsure of where to go from here. The click of Asami's heels on the sidewalk is all she can focus on as she keeps her eyes downcast.

Korra is barely aware that they've nearly reached the hotel until they're almost upon it, her eyes catching sight of a bright sign just ahead.

Asami slows, and Korra follows suit. They stand in the middle of the sidewalk for a second before Asami sighs, turning to face her.

“Look— I'm sorry, I didn't invite you with me because I wanted to talk to you about my business troubles. I want us to have fun,” she says, looking at Korra. Asami's eyes are slightly watery, and Korra's chest aches at the sight. She has to try to make it better.

She swallows whatever grip had been seizing her chest for the past minute and forces a smile. “Fun is my middle name,” Korra cracks.

Asami rolls her eyes, but can't hide her smile, grateful. “We both know that's not true,” she says. “Want to find a bar?”

“ _ What _ ?”

“You know — we're in the city, we could go find someplace, have a few drinks. I don’t know about you, but I’m still pretty full from lunch. And neither of us have to drive anywhere tonight,” she reminds Korra.

“I mean— I understand the concept of what a bar is. I'm just surprised you'd want to go to one,” Korra says, quirking an eyebrow. “You don't seem the type.”

“Oh, and you are?” Asami challenges.

“I'm an athlete!” Korra says, throwing her arms out emphatically. “I go to bars all the time.”

Asami frowns. “I don't really see what one has to do with the other.”

“After games. The team likes to... celebrate,” Korra says, deliberately vague.

It earns her an eyebrow raise. “I see. Celebrating… is that how you and Opal got to become such good friends?” Asami asks.

Korra’s mouth ticks downwards. “Something like that.”

“What does  _ that  _ mean?” Asami says.

“I’m not sure I would actually call us good friends,” Korra says, choosing her words carefully. “It’s more like we run in the same circles.”

Asami nods. “That makes sense. I mean you are on the same team and all.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty happy we’re getting to know each other now, though,” Korra says. “I’m probably going to need a few friends when I go back to school.”

“Opal actually said something similar when I was there the other day,” Asami says. “She said something about a shakeup in her group.”

Korra chooses her next words carefully. “Break-up drama,” she decides, earning a knowing nod from Asami.

“That’ll do it,” she says with a wry grin that makes Korra’s heart stutter.

They walk a few blocks in silence, enjoying the sound of the city around them as the sun begins to set. When they’re waiting to cross the street Asami’s hand finds hers, her fingers lacing around Korra’s fingers.

“How about this place?” Asami says, pointing towards a bar. She doesn’t wait for a response from Korra before she starts to walk towards it, tugging Korra along behind her.

“Sure,” Korra says, before pausing suddenly, her eyes catching a rainbow flag hanging out the window. “Uh — Asami, wait. I think this might be a gay bar.”

Asami shrugs, seemingly undeterred. “I’m not here for anyone but you. Who cares what kind of bar it is?”

Korra’s heart stammers before sending blood rushing towards her cheeks. “Right,” she says, hoping her smile makes her seem a lot more chill about Asami flirting with her than she feels. “Good point. After you?”

It’s a small space, and Korra is immediately cramped. If the taller girl notices, she doesn’t seem to mind as she strides towards the bar. Korra follows in her wake, saying nothing as Asami flags down the attention of the woman behind the bar.

“What can I get you, honey?” the bartender asks, leaning forward to take their order.

“Can I have a whiskey sour and…” Asami trails off, glancing at Korra.

“Uh — a jack and coke?” she asks, and the woman nods before turning her back to fix their drinks.

“You girls are a day early — ladies night is tomorrow. Half priced drinks,” she says as she puts their drinks in front of them.

“We won’t be in town for that long,” Asami says. “Maybe next time though.”

“Well I hope you two ladies enjoy your night,” she says with a wink. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

Asami laughs, but when she turns to face Korra her eyes are downcast at her drink. “Come on,” she says. Asami leads them to a tall table in the back. There’s a pretty decent crowd gathered in the small room — Korra is surprised to see most of them are women.

_ And this isn’t ladies night?  _ she wonders. Korra puts her glass on the table, turning her back to the room.  _ Maybe it's a lesbian bar. Do they even make those? _

She forces herself to take a deep breath. She’s not sure why she’s on edge. No one here knows her, and would it even matter if they did?

It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for Asami to notice Korra’s discomfort.

“Does this place make you uncomfortable?” Asami frowns. “I’m sorry — I shouldn’t have assumed that you’d want to be somewhere like this with me.”

“It’s not that,” Korra starts, then stops, sighing. “Maybe it is a little. Not the you part, of course, I’m just... not used to being somewhere where people will see me and make assumptions about me.”

Asami furrows her brow. “Yeah, I think I know what you mean.” She reaches for Korra’s hand, but then thinks better of it, given their current conversation. “I don’t think anyone is looking at us though, never mind judging us.”

Korra’s eyes dart around the room. She finds that Asami is right, and feels a wave of shame wash over her.  _ Of course no one is watching us _ , she thinks.  _ No one here gives a shit who I sleep with. _

“I know,” she says. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m like this.”

Asami sighs. “I do.” Korra looks up at her, surprised to find Asami giving her a soft look. “Listen, I know I’ve said it before but if you ever want to talk about this whole.... I mean, I know being attracted to a girl is scary. I’m not going to pretend it’s not. And since I’m probably the only person who knows about… I just want you to know that I’m here for you.”

Asami is clearly nervous, her words falling quickly from her mouth and Korra does her best not to hesitate as she reaches forward and grabs her hand where it rests halfway between them.

She wants to tell her everything — that this  _ isn’t _ her first time being attracted to a girl, that this isn’t the first time she’s been terrified of the feeling, that it’s somehow different this time, both the feeling and the fear. They seem to swallow her at every turn — even now. But she pushes through it as she looks at Asami, who’s staring at their enjoined hands.

“Thank you,” Korra offers. “I didn’t mean to make any of this awkward. It’s no big deal, really. I’m sorry.”

Asami shakes her head. “Don’t be. We can leave,” she starts to offer, but Korra is quick to shake her head.

“No way.” She smiles. “We’re staying.”

Asami waits, examining her face for a moment before she begins to smile back, her glass raising to her lips for the first time since the bartender sat it down in front of her.

“In that case,” she says, taking a few large swigs her drink. Korra raises her eyebrows, and Asami shrugs. “You got a head start,” she points out, nodding her head towards Korra’s half empty glass, which she apparently had been sipping at during their whole conversation.  _ Damn nerves. _

“Cheers,” she says, flashing Asami a grin before downing the rest of her drink.

_ It’s going to be a long night. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who volunteered to be my beta, and special thanks to Jazz and Lauren for being my betas! Sorry for a somewhat boring chapter after such a long wait.
> 
> If you want to you can follow me on [tumblr](http://aka-patsywalker.tumblr.com). :)

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to follow me on [tumblr](http://aka-patsywalker.tumblr.com), I'm always looking for new Korrasami/LoK blogs to follow :)


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